backwards. forwards.

we laugh a lot about the fact that when i leave the house in the morning to go to the Y, hoping to come home to find the kids dressed in the clothes i've picked out for them to wear for the day, i almost always come home to them in less clothing than when i left.  getting dressed is a game when jeremy is in charge, and the kids always have fun being chased around with random clothing items flying everywhere.  it annoys me, but since i am only rarely here to witness it, i just expect to arrive to some version of preschool frat party aftermath.  today when i got home, i was shocked to find that the kids were dressed and even had their shoes on!  i think their jammies are even in the dirty clothes basket.  excepting one detail, all was very impressive.  the detail:  ada's shirt was on backwards.  it cracks me up that jeremy always puts buttons in the front no matter what.  in his defense, it's how all of his shirts work.  but in the defense of our children, his obsession with button-fronts does not make any room for clues offered by tags, smocking, collars, etc.  and they usually do look rather funny with their clothes on backwards.

one of isaac's first sundays at the church nursery was mother's day 2008.  as was typical while i was working at church, i went early on sundays and jeremy brought isaac much later.  this particular sunday he brought him in one of the sweet smocked jumpers that someone had given us when isaac was born.  it was so funny to me that jeremy put it on backwards, sailboats in the rear, buttons in the front, that i think we left him like that most of the day.

now isaac puts his crocs on backwards all of the time.  it bothers other people, i think, but i am just glad he wants to put his shoes on by himself.  recently he's started asking, "is this backwards or forwards?"  it must be true that he'll learn when he's ready.

we have a backwards life otherwise too.  jeremy is home in the mornings and not in the evenings.  we have way more than we need or deserve.  we live in a neighborhood that we shouldn't live in because nana and papa t bought half of our house.  ultimately we are justified in christ, who died for our sin so that we might have life.  it's backwards too.

i'm thankful for the backwards.  it moves us forward.