three hundred words a day. july 14.

Every morning in July, I wake, head downstairs, turn on the coffee and tv and settle in to watch the Tour de France.  Over the past years, anyone who visits that rises as early as I do, is subjected to watching with me.  Many are friends who aren't familiar at all with cycling, and I get the chance to teach them about something I love.

Little J knows much about cycling, but generally, he is not one of the people spending time with me at six am.  Like most teenage boys, Little J loves to sleep and there is something about the beach and the cool air and the dark of his bedroom here that has him sleeping like there is no tomorrow.

Until this morning.  No, this morning, as I headed downstairs, Little J was right beside me. 

Aren't you still tired?

No, I'm all good.

So, we turned on the Tour.  We talked cycling a bit.  He lit the fire for me and got me a throw.  He explained to me how the retina in your eye works and had me laughing about some one thing or another.

Oh, how I love this child.

The time I have with him is short now.  I've said it for awhile, but suddenly, it is here.  He's a senior and with all the preparations, the school year will fly in a haze of busyness.  Before I am ready, graduation will be upon us and he will take his first steps into adulthood.   As it is, he has become so independent already, it is almost scary.

I need to be still in these moments, with him.  To listen. To watch.  To appreciate them to their fullest, so that I can recall them at times when I am missing him the very most.