I was running late to pick up Monkey from school today. I’m always running late to pick up Monkey. Even though his school is only five minutes away from J’s traffic, parking and the fact that we can only walk as fast as the one of us with the shortest legs (ahem, Bean) make it a much longer commute.
As I drove to his school I was on edge. I could just imagine him, distraught and in tears because Mommy wasn’t there to greet him as he walked out of the classroom. Despite not being able to really control the traffic I was clearly the worst mother ever at this point. And yet when I walked into the school my Monkey wasn’t in tears. He wasn’t distraught, or upset… in fact I’m pretty sure he wasn’t even looking for me. He was, however, sitting against the wall in conversation with one of his classmates. When he finally saw me he ran up, arms outstretched, and exclaimed “Tonight the full moon is going to be red! A Harvest moon! Can we go outside to see it?”.
His teacher turned and explained that they had learned about the Moon today, and that Aiden had taken a special interest in it. He had spent most of the day asking questions about the moon’s phases and colors.
Driving home he talked about seeing the moon tonight, about wanting to visit the moon one day and about all of his “best buds” at school that he wanted to invite over for a playdate. Glancing in the rear view mirror I suddenly remembered the little boy who wouldn’t leave my side last year at our Mommy & Me group. The same little boy who once cried every time I had to leave him with Grandma to run some errands or make an appointment. Somehow overnight he had grown and now he had this whole life that didn’t quite include me. I was no longer encouraging him to make friends, he was doing that all on his own. And although he still drags his feet on the way to school every morning, once he’s in the classroom he’s content, no longer looking for me throughout the day.
As I pulled into the driveway I realized these moments are happening more often lately. My boys are growing up and I’m beginning to notice all the ways they don’t need me anymore. I know I still have a long time to “mommy” to them, so for now I’ll just be grateful for these little reminds and make sure that I enjoy every hug and sticky mess. Maybe I’ll even stop complaining about the constant sound of Minecraft in the background…. or maybe I’ll get them headphones and just admire how cute they look wearing them…
How do you remind yourself to appreciate little moments with the kids during a hectic week? Head down to the comments and let me know!
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