Thank You by Maureen Locher

A tiny article announcing the date and time of a parent meeting at the nearby American Red Cross prompts in me profound gratitude for:

My 17-year-old who texts his girlfriend every waking moment, who yells, “Hang on,” each time he is asked to do anything, and who creates a cyclone of messes wherever he goes. Thank you for this impatient bundle of perpetual motion.

My 18-year-old who thinks he knows more than I know, who by his very age is the wild card at any moment because, you see, we have never experienced the terrible twos in this house; they did not exist here. They lay dormant for 17 years to become the nightmarish 19s and this boy is definitely exhibiting precursors seen here twice before. Thank you for the being who can do no wrong.

My 20-year-old who complains incessantly when asked to bring the dog in, who “forgets” to call home when he will be really late, and who has quite the extensive vocabulary of four letter words. Thank you for the voice that yells the words.

My 22-year-old who hangs his clothes all over the dining room chairs every single day and who must always, never fail have the last word in an argument. Thank you for those hands that strew the clothes.

The headline of the article? “Parents of Murdered Children Meeting”

Maureen Locher

Copy editor MWLM

Maureen has been seen hugging and kissing her boys extra these days. Where are your kids right now? Find them. Hug them. Kiss them. Tell them you love them. Read more of Maureen’s thoughts at http://maureenlocher.blogspot.com/ ~ To Give God.

Comments

[Jane Hammons]

It is good to stop and hug our children and remind ourselves that we are lucky to have them with us.

But it is also good, though painful, to stop for a moment and really think about the murdered children and those they leave behind.

I recently wrote a piece that appears in today's (01-27-08) San Francisco Chronicle that speaks to this. I'm going to paste the link in, but if that doesn't work, you can search sfgate.com for either my name, Jane Hammons, or the title of the essay--The Boy in the Window--if you are interested in reading it.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/27/CMOUTKJPB.DTL

Jane

[Paula]

Thank you Maureen. I thank my lucky stars for my four boys and my little gal every day :)

Paula

[Kathy Schlaeger]

Keep hugging your sons. It's signs like those that remind us of what is important. Thanks for sharing that with us.

Kathy