Me and my kids. All week.

For the first time, Johanna is going on a trip by herself. Well, not all by herself; she’s going with her mom, and they are taking a flight to Costa Rica tonight, on Christmas. This is the first time she has left her children for more than a few hours, and it’s the first time I’ve had them all to myself.

I don’t have anything to do this week, no job, no work, no creative project, no appointments, no nothin. Just me and my kids, for a full week.

It’s great we have all the presents from Christmas, because we will automatically be entertained with the new dolls and the HUGE new train table and the new board games and…I don’t know if we’ll get through it all in a week.

But we’re going to have a lot of fun.

I’m sitting back in my family room, looking at the unlit christmas tree and all the new toys we get to play with tomorrow, and I’m reflecting on what has become a very blessed life. My family is strong and healthy, we’ve got years of amazing experiences before us, and my gratitude for this magical life is nearly boundless.

For the first time, I am entering a dedicated period of family life. I’m not working, I’m not striving to make money, I’m not hustling to make plans and get them done. For one golden week, I get to just BE the father to my children. That’s all I have planned, and all I’m going to do.

Well, maybe I’ll allow myself a bit of blogging late at night after they fall asleep. But as soon as they wake up tomorrow, we’ve got some new clay to play with, and that is where my focus will finally be.