A Spring of Joy

“Mom?” green eyes sparkle at me, “You be the Mommy and I’ll be Daddy, because I want to grow up just like him, so I need to practice.”

Grinning at my Bear, I pause over the rolls I am slicing. “Ok. But what do daddies do?”

He runs from the room and returns with a book. “This is my Bible and I am going to read and learn all about Jesus.”

He plops himself on the rolling chair by the desk, “Now you listen while I tell you what to do.”

I laugh. “Oh, really?!” I say. “How about you tell me what it is you’re learning in your Bible?”

“Well,” he flips through the pages of his book, “I read it every day and I learn about how Jesus died on the cross. And I learn that He loves me and I love Him and He loves all the children, red and yellow, black and white, because there’s a song in my Bible.”

Smiling, I pull my quiche from the oven, “What else?”

He quizzes me, “What else, what?”

“What else are you learning?”

He grins. “All about being a daddy like Daddy. I go places with my boys and we work in the yard and I go to work every day, but I still like to play. A lot.”

He jumps down from his chair, puts his “Bible” under his arm and says, “Mom, I’m gonna go now.”

“Okay.” I wink at him as he races away. He reaches the hallway, then I hear his feet thumping back to me and feel his arms wrap around me.

“I love you, Mommy.” I kneel to circle him as he whispers, “You have to say that every day when you’re a daddy, too.”

And he’s gone, and I am left breathless, thankful for a dear boy who’s learned a lot about what daddies do from a dear man who does a lot.