Wednesday, March 21, 2012

All about Chase

Disclaimer: There won't be any cute pictures with this post because that child is never still long enough for me to actually get a picture of him!

As I stood in the kitchen cleaning up after lunch today, that is another entry in itself, I paused to just watch Chase playing outside. You see, the pollen has invaded! Everything has that lovely yellow-green coating on it, so Chase was on his own for the time-being. Little brothers were trapped on the screened in porch, which I had to vacuum just so they could crawl around, and Chase had the yard to himself. What caught my attention was how peaceful he was. I am not even really sure if that is the right word, but I am not sure how else to describe it. Let me try to explain.

Over the last year, it has become glaringly obvious to anyone who knows us that the focus of this family has been the triplets. Most friends think to ask about Chase. However when the general public stop us to talk, only a few are good about noticing Chase. I have really worried about how Chase is handling all of this chaos. I guess I shouldn't worry because everyone who deals with him constantly reports about what a great boy he is, how wonderful he is, etc. I love to hear this because it isn't often that I get to witness most of this myself. Well, today, I took the time to savor the moment.

Like I said earlier, here I was in the kitchen, babies on the porch and Chase was hanging by himself. I had promised that I would come outside and play 'chasing monster' with him once I was done. Basically, that means he runs and I have to catch him. Great energy burner...for me! He however is like the energizer bunny with this game. While I was trying to finish the kitchen, I noticed him just 'being'. First, he got his bike (aka big wheel) and was riding it around the back garage. When he was done with that, he got out the bucket and ping pong paddle and ball. He proceeded to try and hit the ball into the bucket (a game he and I play and make a competition out of - not surprising, right?). Then he really got my attention. He ran to his swing and started swinging on his stomach. It was that innocent movement that made me realize that he really is doing okay with all this. He is still just an innocent little boy who loves to ride his bike, hit a ball, run in the yard and swing on the swing. He just went back and forth with this adorable smile on his face. While I wanted to run and grab the camera to capture the moment, I also wanted to just keep it to myself. To take a mental picture and remember that sweet happy little boy. I also wanted to be done in the kitchen so I raced through the rest of the clean-up and joined him outside.

When I did, the monster chased and the little boy laughed and all seemed right in the world. Even with the chaos and 'groundhog's day patterns' of our days, I wouldn't have traded that moment for anything. Yes, I miss being with my friends at work sometimes. Yes, I get frustrated when I have yet more food to prepare, diapers to change, laundry to fold and floors to clean. But No, I don't regret being home with my boys because of the little moments like that. When Chase and I get to just play and be silly and the triplets are watching us from the porch and laughing. Those are the moments that make it special, well those and the little boy who stole my heart first, Chase Matthew Liner. Don't ever forget just how special you are to me. Even when it seems like you are lost in the midst of the chaos, I will always find you and love you!