Grati-Tuesday

 I suspect it requires a special "gift" to turn your 14-year-old son's orthodontist appointment into an emotional experience.  Apparently, I have that gift.

Before she laid out the plan for Eric, this poor lady made the mistake of asking some rather simple questions. 

"So, you have 2 sons?  Are they good friends?"

Easy enough: "They haven't always been, but yes...they are now!"

She probably wished she had stopped right there.  Instead, she inquired further:

"Are they good to you?"

As I began to answer, I found myself tearing up and hardly able to speak.  It wasn't because I never realized until that moment that my boys ARE good to me.  But being asked the question and speaking it aloud, forced me to recognize what  a blessing it is!

My boys are playful and teasing with me.  They talk to me about their lives and beliefs.  They even treat me with more than the obligatory respect (usually...).  As they have matured over the past 2 years, and as they have watched me struggle, they have become sensitive, gentle, tender and affectionate.  And I can say with certainty that they would defend me to the point of death.

Now, that's enough to bring tears to the eyes of anyone with a beating heart, right?  Even if it IS in the orthodontist's office!!

I thank God for my 2 sons...who are good to me.