I Just Don't Want This To End

You never have to ask a 5-year old boy how his day was. Just look down at his feet.

Yesterday, I spent all evening with my grandson. Our time was all the more precious because tomorrow he’s moving. He’ll be 12 hours away from us. For four years, my wife and I have had almost daily interactions with him. That phase of our lives ends tomorrow.

We read some stories, but most of our time was spent jumping on the trampoline together. I was cramming as much love, blessing, and memories into him as I could. We stopped bouncing for a few minutes (at age 58, I needed it!) and I asked if I could pray for him. I spoke a one-minute prayer of protection, blessing, and love. I asked the Lord that everything my wife and I planted in our grandson would grow and that he would always have the love of Jesus in his heart.

The bouncing resumed. It was then time for a bath and bed. Bath time started to get silly. By the time he was out and dried, he was streaking around the house and putting his jammy pants on his arms. It escalated while he was brushing his teeth and I started to speak more firmly to keep him on task. And then, in a very serious voice, he delivered this line:

“I just don’t want today to be over.”

“Me too, Buddy. Me too.” I tousled his hair and thought, “More than you can imagine.”

There it was. A simple statement of a little boy’s want. He was perfectly behaved for the rest of the night. My grandson’s misbehavior was driven by a deep want. His misbehavior was solved not by fulfilling that want, but by simply stating the want, and having it heard and understood.

I would give anything in the world to fulfill my grandson’s want to stop time, but I can’t. Tomorrow, he moves to Ohio.

Sometimes, a Crucible carpet looks surprisingly like a child’s bathmat.

By Terry Martin

Terry completed his initial weekend in 2017 and is in training to be a group leader. He has worked in the insurance industry as an actuary for 36 years. When not at work, he can often be found with a saxophone hanging from his neck and playing in a concert band, the worship band on Sundays, or in a saxophone quartet. Imminent retirement — God willing — will include learning music composition, playing more tennis, skiing at mid-week prices, and taking short-term missions trips with his wife. Terry and his wife live in Connecticut.

Photo Provided by Terry Martin