The Sweetness of Life

I was already in bed when my cell phone rang. I heard Arvo tell the caller I had just gone to bed, then he said, "Well, ok, I think she is still awake" and he brought it to me, shrugging.
"It's your son," he told me.
"Guess what?" said Matt.
His voice sounded strange, like the time he got a speeding ticket. I knew he couldn't have gotten kicked out of law school- he hasn't even registered for classes yet. I would have heard the clang of iron bars shutting if he were in prison. No sirens in the background announced the presence of ambulances. What could it be? He knows I go to bed with the sun. What would prompt him to call me so late and insist his dad pass me the phone immediately?

"I'm engaged," he told me.

Wow. Nothing like your 6 lb. 12 oz. baby telling you he is getting married to wake you up.
I suppose I should not have been so surprised- I mean it was all I could do upon meeting Karissa to keep myself from booking a reception hall and getting them a tux and wedding dress the next day. Do not let this one go!!!!, I wanted to shout. But I didn't. I didn't even tell him how perfectly wonderful she was for fear that in the time honored tradition of children doing the opposite of what parents want, he would ditch her.

I don't have any details. They'll be here tomorrow night for a friend's wedding and so I just told him I could not envision a more wonderful wife for him and how happy I was for them both.

Asherel was still awake, playing Beatles Rock Band (without the drums which she is still trying to fix) and when I opened my mouth, she said, "I know."
"How do you know?" I asked.
"Because I do. Just let me finish this song then I will go to bed." (It was then I realized she was supposed to be in bed 10 minutes ago.)
"But how did you know Matt is getting married?"
She paused briefly and missed a note on her song.
"Oh....Yay!!! I didn't know that. I thought you were coming to tell me it was bedtime."
Having a brother marry the girl that has offered to take Asherel to the pet boutique tomorrow, the one she has longed to visit for a month, is much more exciting than going to bed.

It is so heartening to know that a dear son loves and is loved by such a wonderful woman, and that he called me right away to tell me. Sometimes life is an explosion of color and ecstasy. You never know when a hyperactive, colicky baby that never sleeps and never stops running might grow up and turn into a sweet and compassionate and caring young man. And then, he delivers a new daughter on the doorstep of an aging mother watching her brood scatter like leaves in the wind. Life is so sweet this morning, I can taste it.

Proverbs 29:17
Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul.