Crumpled Blue Paper

My youngest son is in preK at Murfee and during PE yesterday he earned a little blue coupon that entitled him to a piece of candy. Because this coupon so exited him I could barely interpret the chattering, jabbering and possibly even clicking :) he used to explain why he earned this coupon. I think his team won a race or contest???

Anyway, I told him we would redeem his coupon after school today. I didn't hear anything else about it from him, which is strange b/c the passage of time and delayed gratification are hard concepts for a four year old.

Then this morning, he comes out of his room first thing with rosy cheeks, messed up hair and bleary eyes, with non other than that little blue coupon in his hand. The coupon is crumpled and wadded up, having presumably been tightly held the entire night as he slumbered.

That is my little Blake in a nutshell. He holds onto life tenaciously and doesn't let go until, in his estimation, he's lived something fully. He is sensitive, passionate, fiery, yet tender as can be, and I realize every day how much I could learn from him.

I'm too busy moving onto the next thing, or worrying about something from the past, to notice those little blue coupons in life that come our way everyday. If only I could treasure the moments God has graced me with, with the same fervor that was required of Blake to keep up with a crumpled piece of paper during a whole night of sleep...

My "relisher of life and walking carpe diem" turns 5 tomorrow. As I write this, I thank God for this little guy and how he challenges me and loves me with such reckless abandon... Happy Birthday my sweet Blake and may you never lose that excitement over little blue coupons.