Don't forget the small stuff

Oh man.

I went downstairs to work on a a revision and then I heard something.  My two-year-old was telling my wife something.  I turned down the music and listened:

"He doesn't like me down there.  He wants to be all alone."

I immediately took off my headphones and went upstairs.  My son was eating some peanut butter and making his little sister laugh.  He had apparently already moved on.  Still, I took him in a big hug and he kissed me on the cheek. 

I told him I had to go downstairs and work for a little while but when I'm done we'll read a book.  (His current favorite is King Kong.)  He told me a quick story about how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly and then said "sorry I got peanut butter on your shirt."

I kissed him on the forehead and went back downstairs.

This is the biggest problem with writing part-time.  I spend so much time trying to squeeze in an edit here, a blog post there, that I sometimes forget the little things.  Like two-year-olds.

I don't usually get emotional about stuff, but I hate make my little guy sad.  It's so easy to give him a hug and tell him Daddy is going downstairs to write for a little while.

So that's my lesson in the never-ending quest to find complete balance in life.  Kids notice the little things, no matter how "little" they may seem to us grown-ups.