Peace and goodwill (if only for a moment)

Tonight was one of those nights where I wish I could just bottle it up and save it.

I picked up my younger kids after school and took them home to find the two older boys. We had some celebrating to do:

Thirdborn earned 100%on his spelling test.

Secondborn got straight A's on his report card.

Firstborn earned 100% on his health exam today.

All of these are big accomplishments at our house. I took the kids out to dinner at our favorite burger-and-shake place. This is the moment I want to save, the moment we sat down:

Thirdborn was hugging everyone when they expressed admiration over his spelling score. He worked so hard for that this week. First born was high-fiveing everyone over his sports health exam score. Secondborn was proudly telling everyone about his report card and his latest exam on Ancient China. The Love Magnet excitedly told everyone "Good job!" as she scarfed french fries and fry sauce.

Everyone was listening to everyone else.

There was no fighting, teasing, or taunting -

For the entire meal.

My kids are good kids, but they aren't perfect. When these rare moments come along, I want to sit back and watch every second, hoping that I don't lose a single detail to faulty memory. I can't explain why these moments happen. But for one meal, it did happen.

Harmony.

Apparently Heaven is a burger joint with fabulous onion rings and lemon custard shakes, where love abounds between all brothers and sisters. Who knew?