Alex's Announcement

Last night at dinner the boys were brimming with excitement at their upcoming school Valentine's parties. Still, Alex was very careful to design his valentines; he didn't want anything too "girly," too "lovey-dovey," and certainly nothing that would elicit a laugh or smirk from fellow classmates. Then, with all the fourth grade "coolness" he could muster, he made an announcement:

"Mommy, from now on, I'm calling you 'Mom'."

I stopped dead in my tracks. "Mom"? It seemed so blunt, so cold, so... grown-up. David must have noticed a hint of disappointment in my expression, for he jumped into my arms and gave me a full-body hug, then confided, "I'LL call you Mommy! I just say 'my mom' at school so I don't get embarrassed..."

Alex attempted to justify, "None of my friends say 'Mommy'!"

I didn't argue. I think he may be right. But inside, I knew this was the beginning of letting go.

"Well, when did you stop calling your mom 'Mommy'?" he asked.  Hmmm...I honestly could not recall.

Silence.

"Well, OK," Alex conceded, as if my inner thoughts were trying to convince him. "I'll still call you 'Mommy.' But not when my friends come over! Then you'll be 'Mom'!"

Victory! Sweet victory!

Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 13, 2010 at 5:25 PM

    "Mommy" brought back some memories for me. My son at age 39 started calling me Mommy in mid January 2006. He died of a fatal heart attack on January 28, 2006. God works in mysterious ways.
    I love your blogs and keep your family in my prayers.
    Marcia, Spring Lake, MI

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Did You Know?... Samuel

Image
Zachary isn't our only baby who has been intrigued with our corner cupboard.  Many of you commented about messes similar to this that your little ones have made with pantry contents: And FYI... that wasn't flour scattered all over the floor, but cornstarch!  Have you ever tried to clean spilled cornstarch?  It's not an easy job.  But back to our story... Every child of mine has gotten into this corner cupboard.  What about baby locks? you ask.  Well, it has one.  But it doesn't catch well and the boys have always been able to pry it open, anyway.  And I usually let them.  The unorganized contents of this cupboard provide for some fairly safe and lengthy entertainment, and it usually doesn't take me long to shove everything back in once the baby gets bored.  But there are some exceptions, and one day when Sammy was just shy of a year old...  Did you know... that he got into the cooking wine?! Once again I must thank my talented mothe...
Read more

Thankful for Trouble

Image
These days, Zachary is without a doubt full of trouble!  He served his first couple of time-outs this week for smacking his older brother.  He arches his back and screams until he is blue in the face when he doesn't get his way.  He still crawls up and stands on our kitchen table and countertops, and when he is sternly corrected, he reaches to hug me and says in his sweetest, buttering-up little voice, "Mama, Mama..."  He doesn't seem to learn, after flipping and falling backwards off chairs, that they're not to be danced on.  He begs to play outside with the big boys while they ride bikes up and down the sidewalk.  And he didn't care too much when one neighbor boy accidentally ran him over.  He hops in his little Cozy Coupe, pushes off, and heads straight down the driveway towards the street.  My own heart skips a beat as I scream and run after him, just as he reaches the curb.  He won't sit patiently in the shopping cart, but stands up a...
Read more

Home Sweet Home

Image
Zachary is home again, our family is reunited, and we are loving it!  Actually, I'm already getting fed up with Sammy's whining, with the bigger boys' fighting, with the mess... but it's WONDERFUL to be dealing with normal things again. Zachary is still in some pain on and off, usually as his pain meds are wearing off.  He is not quite himself; we don't see as many smiles yet and he is very clingy.  But he will get there!  Zachary is taking Tylenol and Motrin for pain, with an occasional dose of oxycodone.  He is back on diuretics (Lasix and Aldactone) to keep fluid from building around his lungs and throughout his body, easing the workload on his heart.  Over the course of the next year he will wean off his diuretics.  The only other med he is taking is aspirin, which thins the blood to prevent clotting.  He will take aspirin for the rest of his life. Zachy is very fearful and suspicious of strangers, especially young, pretty girls, who look like...
Read more