Writing in Water

I got my car washed today. I wanted to, but I didn't want to.

You see, on Sunday our whole family pitched in and worked. I mean, we Worked.

Little A. got a jump on all of us by waking up early and picking everything up off his floor. He told us that he set a goal to work until 7:00, but he got so interested that he didn't look at the clock until 7:15!

Then the kids helped me make breakfast--the little guy did sausages, his sister did scrambled eggs, I took care of the coffee and coffee cake. After breakfast, Big A. and S. cleaned all the windows and the porch screens while Little A. and I worked on the problem areas in his room. He stuck to it like a trooper. And the clean windows looked amazing!

While we ate, I couldn't say enough about how much the clean windows and screens changed my outlook. Remember that I work from home, so my view of the world comes almost entirely through those windows. I went from a dusty view that felt like prison to windows so clear that they didn't even seem there. I raved about it!

After lunch, S. did a homework project with a friend while Little A. worked outside with his dad. Our eight-year-old son, remembering how I raved about the windows, washed my car for me while his dad did other chores.

Now, my car started filthy. I've been meaning to wash it for a while. And Little A. tackled it with soap, water, and gusto. Of course, I thanked him profoundly--when his wet, wiggly, bathing-suited self came in to tell me and then again when, after dark, I pulled my car into the garage.

The full impact of the present hit me the next morning when I pulled out to take the kids to the bus stop. The still ridiculously bright Florida sun hit my windows and they were...white. Not solid white, of course, but streaks in places and water spots in others and one particularly lovely swirly spot. The best part was when Little A. came out of the house to get in the car. He took a look at the window on his car door and said, "Oh, shoot! I forgot to rinse this window!"

I said, "Don't worry. Maybe I can rinse it off later today." Meanwhile I slyly used the wipers and spray to clean the front windshield so I wouldn't hit anything on the way to the bus.

Little A. said, "Okay. But just this one window."

I waited until the following day to run the car through the car wash. I honestly don't think he noticed. I think I know why. In his vision, he made my car spotless. And it is. And that's the way it will remain in my heart, too.

So that's why I both really wanted to get my car washed and really didn't.

The best part of it all? The kids had been getting snippy and snarly after four days of vacation. After working with us all day Sunday, they turned completely around. I'm making a mental note to write about that someday--how kids are meant to work with and emulate and strive to be adults. But that's another blog for another day.