“When he’s not just four”

My sincerest apologizes are extended to my faithful blog readers who have been sorely neglected of late.  I took some time off after the holidays passed in order to focus my time, energy and resources on my darling little boys.  It recently hit me how quickly children grow up and that the little moments that we give to them now will impact them for a lifetime.  My sweet Nathan will be five this spring and I have absolutely no idea where the time has gone.  I happened upon this poem in a book I was reading the other evening and it seemed more than appropriate to my experiences. 

Now is the time to get things done…

wade in the water,

sit in the sun,

squish my toes in the mud by the door,

explore the world in a boy just four.

Now is the time to study books,

flowers, snails, how a cloud looks;

to ponder “up,”

where God sleeps nights,

why mosquitoes take such big bites.

Later there will be time to sew and clean,

paint the hall that soft new green,

to make new drapes,

refinish the floor –

Later on…when he’s not just four.

Irene Foster