Minutes and Moments

How do you know you're a soccer player? When ninety minutes of running up and down the field like crazy is not enough. That was Sam tonight. Practice finally ended but a few kids stuck around to kick the soccer ball a bit more. Sam wanted to stay, too. He said, "We've only been here an hour and a half!" I was more then ready to go and sort of fished over to Benny with a, "I think it's time to go. Don't you?" And Benny, who had struck up a sideline game with two other bored siblings and their dad, said, "What? No! I'm in the middle of a game!"


So everybody got an extra fifteen minutes.

Driving home, as often happens, the boys regaled me with peppered conversation.



Sam: I think next time I go to Burger King, I'll get the Steakburger.

Benny: Mommy. Today at recess, I played this game with my friend. And I kicked the ball at him five times and then he kicked it at me and I was like WOOSH and then I jumped over it. But I had to go to jail anyway.


Sam: Do you think the Whopper Junior is good?

Mom: Jail? What is jail?

Benny: We'll talk about jail later. Right now I need to tell you other things.

Sam: You know what I don't understand? Why food on commercials always looks so good. But when you actually go get it, it's not that great looking.

Benny: Mommy, do you know how we won the war with England?

Sam: I know. Yorktown.


Benny: But HOW did we win.


Mommy: Um. Well, we......


Benny: The thing is, we DIDN'T win. They SURRENDERED.


Sam: I want one of those burgers that has bacon on it next time.


Benny: When we get home, I need you to look up Florida for me. I have to make a map of it to go with my collection.

Sam: Do you like bacon? I do.




And on and on it went, until my head was whirling. When we got home, Benny began making a map of Florida. They must be studying it in school. Because last night, without saying a word to anyone, he sat and drew this map of Georgia:

So tonight we looked up Florida Geography, and it got late and Mommy got grouchy, but in time, it was all settled and the Florida map was sketched as well.

Later at betime, he brought up a dog he had that died of old age. I said I was sure she was in heaven now, having a great life. He said, "Didn't she have that with us?" I said yes, but heaven is a pretty special place so her life is pretty great right now, it was wonderful with you and it's wonderful now. Benny asked, "When you go to heaven, how long do you stay there?"

I said, "forever?" He shrugged as though he didn't know, but wanted to.

We talked about "forever." Mind-boggling.

Sam showed me a story he had begun writing an illustrating. It was wonderful, as all his stories are. He's gotten into writing stories at night before bedtime, and they are so fun.

Then Benny massaged my hand and said with pity, "You do everything in the house, Mommy. All the work. I feel sorry for you."

Awww.

I wish all the days and moments could be good ones in which I never lose my patience and the boys never argue and things are always great. Doesn't happen. But still. Life is good.

Then there was final tuck ins and cups of water and "good-nights," a hundred times over, and all the attempts to draw it out a little longer.

Such an odd handful of moments, but this is what makes our days. This is what makes our memories. Moments.