Why rush?

I feel like most of my life I have been rushing to the next step:  High school, college, marriage, 1st job, children ...   Then we had Gwen and I couldn't wait until she crawled, talked, walked etc ...  The same was true with Colin.  I enjoyed the steps along the way, but I always anticipated the next step with excitement and eagerness. 

I felt like I could see the path for my life right up until the kids went to college and Matt and I were empty nesters.  Hmmm...  It's pretty easy to rush when you are moving in a straight line.

Is this the way we want to live? 

Luke has been such a blessing to us.  He has given us the gift of the unknown.  The uncharted.  The unexpected.

My family went to Canada once.  For about 6 hours.  We got lost trying to find some amazing fountain and ended up at the Japanese Gardens next to the police station.  It wasn't where we were going, but once we got there, we jumped out of the car and stayed for a while.  We joked that our family didn't drive to a particular destination.   Instead, we drove around and looked at stuff along the way.  :)

It's much harder to rush when you don't know where you are going.  With Luke, we are driving around bends and curves and enjoying the sights along the way.  We don't know where the final destination is going to be, but it's the journey that holds the excitement.  Why rush it?

Today, Luke turns 3 months and he still cuddles like a newborn.  He still fits into his 0-3 month clothes.  His neck is still floppy and his hands are just learning to grasp and hold.  But you know, I don't mind.  All things grow with love.  His smiles and laughter (yes - laughter!) show us that he doesn't mind being small or having to work extra hard to hold up his head.  He knows he is loved, and we never miss an opportunity to look into those eyes and tell him so.

Lots of people have started looking at Luke with questions in their eyes when I say he is 3 months old.  I know they are noticing how small he is and how he can't hold his head upright on his own yet.  Sometimes I tell them he has Down syndrome.  Other times I just smile and say what a sweet and wonderful baby he is, and leave it there.  They can make up their own minds about why Luke isn't at the destination they think he should be at.

For the first time, I don't have a picture of Luke to share.  He has been giving us amazing smiles, but I can't bring myself to rush for the camera.  I want those smiles all for myself!  Sorry for being selfish. I promise I will take some pictures of his precious smiles before my next post.  :)

On a side note:  This week Luke's hair has decided to lay down, and he has figured out how to blow raspberries.  For the past several mornings, I have been waking up to the sound of Luke blowing raspberries into my ear attempting to wake me up so he can eat.  When I finally open my eyes to realize it is morning, I am staring into the biggest, bluest, most amazing almond shaped eyes that have been waiting for me to wake up and notice them  :)  Ahh ... the journey.

Speaking of mornings -
Gwen woke up this morning and ran to my room with shouts of "It's Winter again?!"  She and Colin put their winter gear over their pajamas and played outside for 2 hours in 2 inches of snow!

What do you do on a snow day in April?