a good story

I've been reading A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. The entire book is about telling a good story with your life. Miller shares stories of people who step out of their comfort zones to do something that has meaning, something that impacts others. It's a fantastic book but both times that I've read it, I've come away from it wanting to skip the next several years and get to the point when my children can start living a story beyond digging for worms, temper tantrums and being in love with a different tv show every few months. I want my family to live a good story.
This time though, I realized that digging for worms and all of the other stuff is part of our story right now. It is a small story but this is only the first chapter for them. We are merely setting the scene for the rest of the story. This is the time when character begins to form. This is the time when bonds are forged and strengthened, when little hearts are still moldable. And my job is to make this part of the story the best that I can for them. And I'm not talking about buying them every toy they want or letting them stay up late every night. I'm talking about taking that extra minute to watch the slug cross the sidewalk or stopping the car to watch the excavator scoop up piles of dirt to move to the dump truck. It is finding small moments that add joy, teach lessons and cultivate wonder. I'm not always great at finding those small moments but I'm open to it and willing and that is a start. I'm not going to wait five years to start writing a good story with my life. I'm going to start right now where I'm at.