"Just a Story" = Valuable Moments

     This morning when I dropped Nate off for school he asked me to stay and read a book.  He selected a silly book about pigeons and a hot dog and we sat down to read. Shortly we were surrounded by a cluster of first graders eagerly listening.  After I finished that book, a new one, Chicka, Chicka, 1,2,3, was waiting (which we'll have read next time...).  As I was leaving, I noticed that one classmate's shoe was untied, and offered to tie it. Nate then walked me to the door, said goodbye with a kiss, and went back to his friends. 

    As I began my trek back up the hill I was thinking about the previous 10 minutes.  It hadn't been much time.  I said goodmorning to a few kids in the halls, checked in with the teacher, read a short story, tied a shoe, gave a goodbye kiss, and said hello to a few parents and children as I left the school.  Not much in reality.  But my brain fast-forwarded ahead ten years.  Is it not in these short moments now that we build the relationships that keep us engaged in the lives of our children and their friends as they get older? 

Nate's morning message to me a few days ago...