The Boy woke up with a cough. A little out of sorts but not sick really. I decided to keep him home just in case. Because he may be on the verge, and because I was secretly excited about spending time with him in a quiet way.
He’s a busy guy now. He used to be my baby. Just the two of us at Starbucks, at the mall, on flights to various cities around the world. A cocoon of mother-son love, our world was magical and intense. That intensity I shared with my first child was unique. Everything was new. Everything was special.
Not that it’s not special with the Girl and the Baby. It’s just, you know, different now. Wonderful, crazier and different.
The Boy has now emerged from that cocoon, and has his own life separate from me. Can you believe it? Even to write it down is ghastly. He goes to school, plays soccer with his buddies. He watches sports on TV, yelling and cheering when a goal is scored. He listens to music on YouTube (his current fave is Down by Jay Sean), and reads hockey magazines. Add to that Pokemon, Bakugan, Transformers, Lego, Wii games etc. and it doesn’t leave a lot of time for cuddling with Mummy.
So today I kept him home and we just hung out. We read books, and looked at family photos on the computer. We played Scrabble (see pic) – he is intensely competitive in a scary kind of way, but that’s okay because I can be that way too. The Baby had to go to the pediatrician to get her shots and the Boy held her hand. He comforted his sister and snuggled her when she cried.
I put him down for a nap like the old days and gazed at my Boy. Everyone told me this and I discarded the warnings like any other old cliché. But this cliché rings true – they grow up so fast. I’m going to cherish every moment while I can.
We only have one child now and he is 2…it is just so amazing to watch him grow and develop. I have wondered what a second child would be like. And had a woman tell me once you will never love other children like your first! I hope thats not true. LOL.
It sure is a special time when it is just you and your first, I remember those days just me and my daughter very fondly. I love my son to pieces and I wouldn’t trade him for anything; that said, life is more complicated now. I find myself getting caught up in the logistics of more than one child, and I miss out on the sweet little moments I enjoyed (and had the sanity to recognize) regularily before I had two children.
I had a day not that long ago when my parents offered to take my daughter for the day, and my son and I went out shopping. He was only about 6 months old, so he didn’t really care where we were, he was just happy to be looking at his Mom as we strolled along. That was more of a day off than any day when my husband stays with the kids and I go out alone!
My favourite quote a friend told me in the intense, early days of motherhood when I didn’t think I could keep on going – “the days are long but the years are short.” So very true.
That’s a lovely post, Amreen, and I know exactly what you mean. I had a day like that a few months ago with my daughter; she threw up first thing in the morning, so I stayed home from work with her. By breakfast time, she was back to herself and we spent our “free day” walking to Starbucks, window shopping and watching a movie together. It was a very special day.
twice you’ve made me cry!