The Sweet Spot of the Watermelon

I've said it since the day my children were born, and I said it again as I drove down the highway...

We are in the sweet spot of the watermelon.

What I mean by that is that I believe, from the age of about five until our children enter into their teenage years, there's a sweet, precious timespan of childhood memories, antics, sayings, mishaps, etc. that occur. And, lest I blink, I will miss the opportunity to take hold of it, embrace it, guard it, nay savor it!

I'm not a watermelon fan (ironically); however, I've had enough of it to know that if you stand in line for the first slice, it will usually come from one of the sides. The piece will be semi-sweet and slightly whitish, perhaps even bland-like. Yet, if you wait a bit, typically folks will delve into what is known as the "sweet spot." That area of the fruit that yields the sweetest, most colorful and flavorful of its givings.

I don't know why I have stuck with this particular reference over the years, but being the silly "fruit loop" that I am, I suppose it sort of fits.

Perhaps you can relate to this. Sometimes my children drive me/us a bit....

Yeah, you get the picture. ;)

And, yet, I realize in the stillness, in the peaceful solitude afforded me by the local county school system, that I NEED and WANT to enjoy all that these precious ones have to bring to my life. BLESSINGS beyond what I could ever have imagined. 

Do the blessings come with pain, grief, whining, bickering, complaining, nagging, and scrapes/boo-boos? Absolutely.

But, these years, oh, these precious years of life during which they learn and observe and inquire and believe... these are the LIVING YEARS. The years during which life happens. Life gets messy and fussy and rushed and sometimes downright overwhelming. 

YET, that watermelon analogy pops into my head.

{{ POP! }}

And, I'm reminded to take advantage of these years. The years that won't come back, won't be relived, and will be sorely missed one day.

Basically, what I'm saying is I'm THANKFUL this week for being in the sweet spot of the watermelon. For life being juicy, messy but always flavorful!

Until your next cup of joe,

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