The List

My boy runs to the living room where my husband has gathered the family. We're making plans for our trip and there is talk of swimming and ice cream and golf and buffet breakfasts. Terry gets the children excited over walks and flowers and waking up. He lives to make life memorable and fun. We have a running list of things to do while we're away and my husband is thrilled that our son can't stop thinking about golf and Oliver's voice pipes up again and again, making sure we know his heart's desire. We talk of our "list" of togetherness and yes, golf is on it... at least for the boys.

And so, our list actually becomes the fun. It turns out that gearing up for excitement is often part of the journey to having fun. My husband has this down-pat, while I, prefer to "spring" things on the kids at the last minute (mostly so the opportunity remains open to change my mind).

We finally arrive at our resort and within a couple of days, check many things off of our agenda. With promises of a trip to the driving range... after the beach, Oliver willingly allows me to change him into his swim suit. My husband and I settle in on beach lounge chairs and the girls begin to bury each other, pretending to be mermaids. Oliver, heading for the water, trips and plunges head-long into the sand. He rises and brushes his little three year-old body off.

"THAT wasn't on the LIST!" he mumbles and we all double over laughing.