Little one, lost in thought...

Life with children is hectic. Amidst the laundry, bathtimes, snacks, fingerpaints, storybooks, timeouts, legos, muddy footprints and sloppy kisses, time can literally fly by. It's easy to view children and their constant care as just another chore, another task to check off the to-do list. Even when the task is snuggling, or enrichment, or spiritual enlightenment, occasionally it's easy to view childrearing as something else to manage.

Every once in a while, though, particularly when I move into that get-it-done mode, my children are sure to remind me of their individuality. This was one of those moments. We had stopped to throw rocks in the lake between one errand and another, and as I was preparing to move on to the next task, I caught my little man, staring off into the lake, as pensive and contemplative as any other.