Beautiful Blossoms

As I drove into my parent's driveway this afternoon the first thing I noticed was that their pear tree was in full bloom. The delicate white flowers were beautiful. I was amazed to see it so full of green leaves and blossoms so soon after Hurricane Igor which left it looking brown and bare. It's beauty struck me and made me smile. As I entered the house I mentioned to my mom how beautiful it was and while she agreed, she also commented on how the falling blossoms were all over her car and awhile later she went out to clean them off. I can't fault her lack of enthusiasm of having to clean the car off and I can only imagine that this will be a task repeated several times over the next few weeks. Her response however made me think of how I sometimes view my kids. Sometimes I miss the beauty and joy that they bring and I only see the work it takes to raise them. It is hard work caring for 4 little ones but somewhere between changing diapers, keeping up with the loads of laundry 4 kids produce, grading papers, sleepless nights, never ending correcting, rebuking, encouraging, and all the rest that comes with parenting, I do need to make sure I am taking time to enjoy them and seeing them for the beautiful kids that they are... my four beautiful blossoms!