Do you read me? Do you read me?

            My children recently discovered, buried in a drawer, an old pair of walkie-talkies.  Tim picked them up from work years ago when he was working at an office supply store.  The walkie-talkies had been marked down so low that with his employee discount, they were free.  He brought them home, assuming they would someday come in handy, and tossed them in a drawer to wait for that day.  They sat there for about 8 years, until this past week when my children unearthed them….

            Since then, we have heard nothing but “Do you read me?  Do you read me?  Over.”  The kids are having so much fun with their new “toys”.  They talk to each other from different bedrooms in the house.  They talk to each other on bike rides around the block.  They talk to each other from one side of the street to the other, or from the backyard to the front.  From what I can gather, they are saying nothing of consequence.  They mostly ask, “Where are you now?”  and “Can you hear me?”  The fun is not in the conversation, obviously, but in having the connection with each other.  

            As I watch their joyful faces holding those walkie-talkies to their mouths and talking in earnest, I can’t help but wonder about the future.   For now, my children are all best friends.  They may not admit that very readily, but it is true.  They play together constantly.  They laugh together.  And talk together.  And make up games and stories together.  And share inside jokes that only they understand.  They really are each other’s closest companions and greatest playmates.  

I think that is why they are so thrilled with the connection the walkie-talkies have afforded them over the last few days.  They can be together while being in two different rooms, or while being yards and yards down the street from each other.  

            The walkie-talkies are great.   But, I know the real connection comes from being part of the same family.  It comes from shared genetics and from shared experiences.  It comes, mostly from God, who blessed each of them with a very special connection to four magnificent playmates and life-long friends-- in their siblings.  

I pray that even after the novelty of the new toys wears off, even after the batteries have died, even after they grow up and move away and live apart from each other, with separate lives and families of their own—they will still feel closely connected.  I pray they will always revel in the privilege of their connection to each other.  

For now, they are all just enjoying the simple privilege of running around the neighborhood asking over and over, “Do you read me?”