send off

I guess my two children find some measure of security in routines. Bedtimes have followed the same basic pattern pretty much ever since they've been able to listen to a story. As they get older, elements of it get handed over to them to sort out for themselves, for sure, and they've added extra dimensions as their language has grown. But the main planks have always been there. They seem to need a bit of a scripted closure to the day, which for the last few months has been along the lines of Good night, God bless, hope you have sweet dreams about Father God... and since they share a room, it's in a kind of delayed stereo. And I love what they've picked up from us and the new bits they weave in for themselves. I get to say amen to that.

And they're like it in the morning too, to a lesser extent, with little ceremonial farewells, only with more silliness usually. Hope you have a strawberry jam day, daddy... or whatever they've got smeared on their bagels or pitta breads that day (honey and marmite? so help me...) Only Theo's a bit different to Miriam, because he absolutely has to find me to say God bless, I love you, on top of the other stuff. Some days I'll be unlocking the car and I'll hear him behind the front door crying because he thought he didn't quite say it enough times or that I didn't quite hear him. Or I'll look back at the front window and he'll be on the (inside) sill, mouthing it, with a sticky bagel dangling from a finger like one of the rings on that lion King John in the Disney Robin Hood.


But today I must've missed him, because I got a text from him by the time I got to work.

 

I guess it was the only way Kate could console him. But as well as thinking lots of that's my boy thoughts, it got me thinking about how often I tell my two fathers (my earthly and heavenly ones) how much I love them. And fired me up to do it a lot more. Because if a four year old can be that relentless in his pursuit of getting his heart cry across to his dad, I know I should remember to do it a lot lot more.