Butterflies and Tea

                  Life seems to be extremely fast-paced today. We are constantly zipping from one appointment to the next. You go from work, to school, to soccer practice, to dance recitals and Girl Scout meetings. Then there is work. Forty hours a week never seems enough. There is always overtime, required to meet business needs. Or, there is that next report or proposal that needs to be completed. It leaves little time for our families. We are too busy trying to make a better life for them that we sometimes forget them.

            You can’t tell me you have never done this. You’ve had an extra long day at work, and it was worse than normal. All you want to do is vegetate on the couch for a few hours, become one with the cushions and remote. That isn’t going to happen. Children run through the house trying to capture imaginary dragons, or a fight breaks out over which video game will be played next.  You feel your blood pressure rise. “Don’t the kids understand I just want to relax?”

            You throw the remote down, ready to storm in and demand quiet. But right then, your youngest comes skipping into the living room. They are snatching at the air singing as they go. Being devoid of the imagination you had twenty odd years ago, you ask them. “What are you doing?”

            Without any hesitation, the little one jumps on your lap. A smile crosses their face. “Catching butterflies silly.” They open both hands revealing nothing. Yet, they toss their hands into the air. Their head twists and follows the imaginary butterflies as flirt up to the ceiling. A smile crosses your face as some of the tension drains from your body. Before you know it, you are being lead into a room and set down to tea with an army of stuffed animals.

            Time slips by. The pressure of the day is forgotten as you look into those gleaming happy eyes of your daughter. You don’t realize how much time has passed, until your wife comes to get you for dinner. Her laughter makes you glad that there aren’t any camera’s around. There is no way you would want your friends seeing you in the pink boa, straw hat, and star sunglasses. Your daughter giggles and before long, all of you are laughing.

            Life moves by too quickly. Most of the time, we are caught up in the world of work and the desire for material things. There are too many times that we forget about what really matters in life, the smile from your child and laughter of your family. How long will it be before your little princess is someone else’s queen? Or, your toy soldier is standing the long watch across the sea. So, take the time and share a smile while you can.