The Life Lesson from Soap

A couple of families have recently moved into the area, and they both swear by a Mexican laundry soap called Zoté. The stuff is truly amazing. I've managed to get stains out that Em put on her baby clothes nearly 3 years ago. Its made the clothes look new for little Harp. Yesterday, however, I think my amazing soap met its match in the form of a rugby-player-in-the-making toddler and a large pile of red clay. Cooper, like most boys, finds dirt. It's like he has a dirt-seeking missile attached to his bum... and shirt... and knees... and face. I guess it is a right of passage, being the mother of a son, to fight tooth and nail to keep his clothes looking nice. But sometimes, he's so stinking cute when he's getting them dirty, I forget to tell him to stop throwing handfuls of dirt into the air above him... or to just take off his clothes.

Yesterday was just such a time. Cooper and Em were playing outside together. Em was dirty, but nothing a garden hose couldn't take care of. This boy of mine, who is growing up so fast I feel like if I turn my back on him he's going to be taller than me, was a different matter.

He had it in his hair. In his ears. Up his nose... and the worst part? He LOVED every speck, right where it was! I remember going on mission trips and scrubbing and scrubbing to get dirt like this out, but the whole time, it bothered me. It felt like each shovel-full of dirt that I would take would send waves more dirt onto me, making me cringe all the more. Him? NOPE! Not a chance. He was going to KEEP that dirt right where it was if it was the last thing he did on this earth.

So I chased him. Around the yard. Behind the garden swing. Down the slide until he finally ended up on the trampoline. And I was completely prepared to get in there and catch him, hog-tie him, and drag him off to the shower, but I came upon this face. Which made me immediately laugh and go run for the camera.

So he jumped, and giggled, and made all sorts of mommy-I-love-you googly eyes at me, and I took in the moment of my filthy, disgusting boy covered head to toe in heaven knows what, enjoying just the way he was. Sometimes I forget that he'll outgrow this... or that he'll learn to do his own washing and it won't be my problem anymore. Sometimes I just think of all the problems and issues this boy of mine gets into. But on this particular day, I had the clarity of mind to remember that God made little boys. He made some to be dirty and some to be neat; some clingy and others seem born for climbing tall trees. But HE made them, and my job is to enjoy and guide, not get upset about the 20+ minutes it'll take me to scrub HIM clean, let alone those clothes. Thank the Lord for days when priorities are in order and I remember who gave me this handful of hard-headed, dirty boy. Maybe, just maybe if I'm really lucky, Cooper won't remember all the times I yell at him for getting everything so dirty and he'll remember a few days like today, when we played in the dirt together. Maybe I should spend more time in the dirt with him, just in case this one day wasn't enough to make the memory of this time spent together stick.

And for the fans, here's little Harper sitting on her blanket playing with toys until the whole chasing bit happened. Then, she was enthralled with Cooper and me and I couldn't help but take a picture of my girl trying to smile AND figure out what in the world her mother and brother were doing.