The Middle Child

My kids went to Sport Camp last week at a local church. Throughout the week, they work on memorizing the theme verse and once they say it they get a prize. The first night, The Big Boy said it (he was blessed with a photographic memory). Before the next meeting, I worked on it with the other two. And when we picked them up, Princess proudly showed us her prize.

But  my little guy. Oh, poor kid. He did not earn his prize. He was devastated that his little sister had memorized the verse, but he couldn't. That night he cried himself to sleep.

The next morning, he was the first one up. Instead of shooing him back to bed, I let him crawl under the covers with me. And while the other two kids slept, we read his Bible verses over and over again. And instead of just memorizing them, we talked about what they meant.

Then we went downstairs and ate breakfast--just the two of us.

These alone moments are few and far between. So when I get them, I try to enjoy every single second. Plus, he is my middle child. The one who I think often gets lost in the shuffle. He has never been in school full time. So when Princess came home, Big Boy went to first grade, which left my Middle One home with me and our Princess who was totally shutdown. Then he was dragged to PT, OT, speech, and countless doctors appointments.

And it was hard. Hard for me. Hard for my little guy. And hard for Princess.

So one-on-one time with my littlest guy, is extra special.

The other two, came down the steps right when we finished our waffles. And before going off to play, he whispered in my ear, "That was fun, mommy."

That night he earned his prize.

And I hate to admit it, but I am so thankful it took him a wee bit longer than the other two to memorize his verse. Because I wouldn't trade my morning with him for anything.