We are the Ones

I like Sweet Honey in the Rock. There's something incredible about their singing that I can't even begin to describe. Soulful, They have a song with the words, "We are the ones, we've been waiting." I can't remember what it's about right now, but I think about it in regards to my kids. This could be their song. "Hello, Mama...we're the ones you should be spending energy on! We've been waiting for you to come back to us."

Today we made the choice to not hang out with friends. Normally we enjoy every possibility for social contact with the outside world! And this evening was the annual Children's Festival in a town not too far from here, a festival filled with activities and crafts and friends. We even had a plan to meet up with another family, but in the end I canceled. I wanted to spend an entire day solely in the company of my children. Sure, we went to our favorite coffee place and treated ourselves to lunch and games, but other than that we were pretty much our own little pod. We read books, we played games at lunch and a new game at bedtime. We worked in the garden, we ran errands, we had a nice dinner by candlelight.

Ah. Now I remember. The title is "We are the ones we've been waiting for." Maybe that's even more appropriate. We can't find this kind of happiness and connection outside of ourselves. We can't find it by going on just the right adventure, or by connecting with just the right group of friends that will make our days and nights fun-filled and less lonely. We're waiting for ourselves to sink into comfort with just ourselves. We ARE the ones we've been waiting for.