Never Land

Never Land. An underground passage that escapes the tick of time. Crocodile hungry time, that wears on hearts and souls and bodies, etching grooves in cracks of skin, deep as canals. The Lost Boys are there and the Mermaids, too. That cast of unforgettable characters in life that make you forget the tick tock, tick tock, as chapter after chapter closes in the novel of life. The friends of mischief, the beauties of compassion, those you love in laughter and lamentations. Fold them close and find your way to Never Land.

September Saturday

Brown sunflowers. My favorite.
A toasted version of the golden child flower.

My son. A haystack guardian.

Flapjacks with Daddy

The Golden Arches. And pancakes? While many children may associate McDonald's with cheesy burgers and nuggets of chicken crispiness, my boys think about breakfast. My husband has started a new tradition. On hectic mornings or rainy mornings or random mornings, he will splurge on our sons with a flapjack treat. Sometimes he brings the dynamic duo together to tackle a short stack or two. Other times, it's one on one and each child alone basks in the glory of Daddy's limelight and the sweet buttermilk goodness. Whatever the combination, it gives our men-in-the-making a chance to connect with their father in the calm of morning, over the smell of bacon, before busy days burst forth and where a dialogue begins that will hopefully never end.

"Listen, my sons, to a father's instruction; pay attention and gain understanding." - Proverbs 4:1

Exclamation Points

My eldest son began first grade. New book bag, glue sticks, yellow highlighter. The shopping list continued and my eyebrows raised to vaulted ceiling heights. What do they do in first grade?

I received the first email from his new teacher and much like his kindergarten teacher's correspondence, it was peppered with exclamation points. Peppered and salted. They were everywhere. Lounging on our eggplant couch that evening I remembered to tell my husband about this odd little phenomenon going on in the elementary world. We giggled, imagining ourselves sending business emails with that kind of perky punctuation, but then my husband said seriously, "Do you live life with exclamation points?"  I paused, my answer hung in suspension as my brain still processed. What a concept!

So, I recount this story and attach it to some recent photos from The Lost Cajun Kitchen where we dined on alligator! My children thought it tasted like chicken! Did you see those teeth?! What a dining adventure!

I hope this will be one of many exclamation point moments.