Daboyz

These are daboyz, my boys, that is.  Jay (25) on the left and Mac (24) on the right.  This pic was taken on Lake Michigan this summer during our vacation.  Every year, our kids still go Up North with us on vacation.  Sometimes we take a day or two for a little side trip but basically, it's a week at my parents' cottage with very little television and a whole lot of sitting around playing board games,  eating big breakfasts and just being quietly in one another's company.  You'd think that by this age, they'd be making their own vacation plans in much cooler places than a little cottage with their parents.  I'm thankful for every year we still have together.  I'm truly thankful for their hearts, because they don't roll their eyes and tolerate our Up North trips.  They start talking about it months in advance-planning and coordinating vacation time.  The final few weeks are still the same "can't wait" countdown we used to hear when they were little guys. 
I stayed at home when they were, in fact, little guys.  I didn't go back to work until Mac was in first grade and even then, I worked for the schools system so I'd be on the same calendar they were on.  I became a nurse in 2004, they were 15 and 16 years old and it was the first time I worked a summer vacation.  What a blessing.  Not the financial aspect, we struggled with that.  But the time...time that can't be measured in dollars.  The time we spent being woven together, by God, into one another's lives.  My poor kids, they never had the benefit of a parent who respected privacy and boundaries, still don't.  Another gift for which I'm grateful, they accept this closeness with grace instead of defiance.  Of course, they are adults and our relationship is different now.  Of course, they are due privacy and respect and we honor that.  We honor the men they've become. 
These men, who still spend their time with us.  Who still hug us and tell us they love us and in little ways they aren't even aware of-they bless us.
Like Jay spending the day at the cider mill and bringing us cider and donuts.  And Mac, he and his girl learning to make chicken paprikash and being, well, they're cheapskates!  LOL!  Frugal, let's say they are frugal :)  
What I mean is, they are building their lives on good and simple pleasures.  They love evenings like the family campfire we had a few weeks ago.  They come over to watch football with their dad and eat giant bowls of his chili on Sundays.  They have hearts that are satisfied with family and simplicity.  I'm so thankful for that.  I believe their hearts will serve them well in years to come, because they recognize God in quiet places. 
It's not a kind world any more.  People chase after bigger and louder things to satisfy their bored and empty hearts.  Thank you, Lord, for sons who spend their Saturday nights with a cup of coffee and a campfire and crave nothing more.