If you know my little boy, you know he is a handful. Not in a burdensome way. Just in a constant way. He is full speed. All the time. He doesn't sit and watch tv or quietly play with toys. He hits golf balls, and runs thru the house. He would rather be outside running wide open than anywhere else in the world. He is happy. And free.
And all of his energy translates into early mornings. And full days. The hardest days, as you can imagine, are church days. Asking him to sit anywhere quietly more an hour or more.. much less silently is pretty much impossible. He has things he needs to say and do. And so sometimes that means he slips past me to "visit" Yaya more than once during a service. He talks out loud. He gets taken out. Services probably seem longer to me times ten than anyone in the room.. because I am trying to teach this little boy right from wrong. And there are nights like last Sunday when I see real progress.
For the most part, wherever we are, people seem to understand that he is just a little boy through and through. And that means he talks too loud, and he moves around constantly. Occasionally though, people try to make parenting suggestions. Those people are usually without children, or just don't have a clue about having two young children (only 15 months apart!). So I try to smile. And nod.
But the truth is that that little boy who I love completely wears me out. And at night, when I put him in bed, I usually drag myself to bed right behind him. And every night this busy little boy, who doesn't have much time to slow down and be affectionate during the day, will come to the side of my bed and say.. "I need one more kiss, Mama.". And I love that part of the day. The part where he has slowed down enough to realize that he needs one more kiss. The part of the day where he really thinks about his mama.
Today we had a full day of golf, Chuck E. Cheese, Chickfila ice cream, and visiting granddaddy and grandmamma. All with no nap, and no breaks. And as tired as he was, a few minutes after we put him to bed, he came to the side of my bed and said.. "I need one more kiss, Mama". Precious.
