Penchuk.com

This seemed appropriate and fitting:

“The best things in life aren’t things.”
Art Buchwald, American humorist

So the weather in NC has been amazing for about a month now. It’s been beautiful many days and even nicer in the early evening. Tonight was the first day it was actually hot. Mid-to-upper 80′s as a high but it was 78 around 7PM when we took what’s becoming a customary trip to the baseball fields. I pile the kids in the homemade wagon courtesy of my father and we’re off. The point is that we’re using it ALL THE TIME now. We take it to the park. We take it events in downtown Raleigh. We take it to the Fresh Market (and actually bring it into the store). We take it to the baseball fields. We take it on walks down random greenways. It’s a really handy transport and the kids just fit perfectly in it.

So the trips to the baseball fields are becoming more frequent because Ben is really getting into baseball these days. Not only is he interested in the Yankees and Cubs, he’s playing teeball and wants to play catch every night. Just in the past week, his skills have improved so much that we can actually play catch. It’s amazing. We’re using a tennis ball (he’s still kind of scared of even the soft hardball that we have) but he’s catching it. He throws it back to me almost every time. I throw it back and he’s catching it more than 50% of the time. Frankly, I’m amazed. Laura came out and was watching us yesterday and I said to her, “This is really cool.”

Last but not least, let me tell you about Jackson Edward. He is in the midst of his terrible two’s. Lately he’s been yelling, “I neeeeeeed it”. Repeatedly. Did I mention he says it again and again? Oh, and again and again. Then you finally cave in and give him whatever it is he feels he neeeeeeeds and he stops all crying, all screaming, all whining to look directly at you and simply say, “No.” It’s not quite as cool as playing catch, but Jack will have his day, too.

Bottom line, we’re both appreciating the heck out of our kids no matter what they do.

I’ve been thinking about family a lot over the past week.  The main reason is the unbelievable story of Katie Manning.  Laura and I have not been able to stop thinking about what Vickie and Alan have been going through.  So far, the news has gotten better and better after their world’s were, as they wrote, “moderately adjusted”.  Sweet Katie has reminded us all of how precious life is and how important the people in our lives are.  Take a moment, hug your kids and enjoy that moment of frustration and remember that tomorrow, it might not be there.