Tonight was one of those nights. The kind we’ll talk about at weddings and funerals and reunions.
It shouldn’t have happened. We were supposed to be home.
But our floor project needed one more day, so we had to crash at my in-law’s one more night.
Not the worst straw to draw, considering there is a body of water less than 100 feet from the back door.
After running around town all day, we said the “the kids are going to bed early because it’s a big day tomorrow” stuff.
And then proceeded to blow by bedtime.
A couple kids started swimming for a “few minutes”.
And a couple more were fishing.
My in-law’s had a friend over so before we knew it, everyone danced a bit and ended up in the lake.
Well, everyone except mom. She’s the definition of tenacious. Her motor is unending. She had stuff to do.
Plus she had a few important calls to make. A friend here. A sister out west. Another friend.
When she hung up, one of the girls said, “Mommy...Mommy...” like she was attempting a game-winning field goal.
Everyone picked up the next verse, “Mommy...Mommy...Mommy...”.
We were begging her to join us.
She came down to the dock, fully clothed, fully showered.
She sipped a glass of wine, but she wasn’t getting in. It was time for us to get inside.
“Let’s head up gang,” she said as she turned her back and walked away.
“Awww...”
She had barely finished her lie, when she whipped around and dove right in.
Fully clothed, fully showered.
She came up fully alive.
We swam as an entire family for awhile. At bed time, Silas said, “wasn’t that fun how we all went swimming? How does mommy dive so good?”
It’s such an insignificant moment in the grand scheme, but it speaks to me a great deal.
The easy path would have been to turn it in, play it safe, have everyone hit the sack.
The life-giving path was to turn around and jump.
Even when she was fully clothed and we were supposed to be in bed.
