Why you'll want this little man for your daughters

It's easy in parenting to get hung up on aspects that aren't running smoothly. There have been moments with Hudson this month that have made my eyes cross in frustration. S. & I ask each other, "Is he not paying attention? Is he intentionally ignoring us? Was that disrespect out of rebellion or simply for a laugh?" There have been some rough pull-over-on-the-freeway-to-discipline moments. However, I am determined to not get absorbed in the rough patches when there is much to enjoy:

I am watching admirable character traits deepen in the heart of this not-so-little boy. They say you can tell a lot about a man by the way he treats his mom. Hudson melts me.

Last week I came home from working out early in the morning and Hudson had snuck into our bed to be by S. I passed through on my way to the shower thinking they were both asleep. I heard Hudson whisper, "Mom! Mom, you look so, so, so pretty! You put your hair like that all the time, okay?"

I hid a smile- sweaty, in shorts with a messy ponytail? Doesn't take much I guess.

A couple days ago I burnt myself on the stove. I bit all the words that came to mind as I ran it under cold water. Hudson rushed over, "Oh, Mom! Oh, Mom! Are you okay? It's okay, Mom. You're okay." He then dashed out of the room to find what he uses for comfort; a tractor blanket and an armful of stuffed animals. I wrapped the blanket around me while I finished making dinner.

Yesterday on our way out the door for church Hudson stopped to compliment me again. "Mom, you look so pretty! You the prettiest girl ever!" He paused thoughtfully and added, "You AND Darla. Only you and Darla the prettiest. You always look pretty and not any other girls! Not any other girls pretty...not girlfriends...anybody." (His Dad agreed.) I know Hudson won't feel that way forever so I am going to soak up every minute of it!

This morning over breakfast the kids were sharing their dreams (this is the highlight of many Taylor breakfasts). Darla had much detail into her Tinkerbell dream. She then asked her brother, "Hudson, what did you dream about?"

He answered, "Me have dream just about me and mom. Me a grown up and me a doctor so then me fixed Mom's back."

He has been quite concerned about my back since I threw it out recently. But concerned enough to dream about being able to fix it? Now that's a real man.

May the Lord continue to build these things in him; an ability to comfort and encourage, to see a need and meet it, and exclusive devotion to the most important woman in his life. This 3 year old has some lessons to teach many adult men I know. Oh, and Lord...please make him a chiropractor for real. That was a prophetic dream, right?