Step in a puddle and get wet

I love watching my youngest boy just act like a little boy.  Something about puddles of water that makes him want to take a running leap right into the middle as an explosion of liquid slush goes flying everywhere.  The joy on his face as he raises his hands in the air and grunting as if he has just conquered a major battle is unmatched by any other entertainment venue.  Years ago when I was a young mom raising my two oldest boys I don't think I appreciated the same bursts of excuberance as I do now.   I think I was too overwhelmed with motherhood, working to support my family and just plain ol' life that I didn't really take the time to enjoy the simplicity of their childhoods.  Oh how I wish I could go back (sometimes, I'm not in total denial.)  Now that they are grown I often wonder if I could have done more.  My circumstances had limited me and I often felt guilty that I couldn't do more or be more for them.  Then a week like this one happens.  You know the kind I'm talking about, where you are so overworked, overwhelmed and exhausted that if feels like it will never end.   Right in the middle of it you realize you missed a call from your oldest son.  You listen to the voice mail and it says "Hi mom, just wanted to tell you I love you....thats it......I really just love you."   After you pick yourself up off of the floor, tears well up in your eyes...."how sweet"....but then your Mom fears kick in and you begin to think...."whats the matter...oh my gosh....hes in trouble....hes in jail..."   I called my oldest son and it turns out one of his friends mother had just passed away.  Something about death that makes a person confront their own lives.   I was thankful for the call none the less.   I must have done something right,  he thought about me and wanted to make sure I knew he loved me.   I don't take that for granted now.  I don't take for granted splashes in the mud puddles.  In fact, when no one is looking....I take a leap or two myself.