Mom Time

Well, it’s been almost two weeks that my boys have been on holiday break from school.  That means they’ve been at home…with me…a lot.  Have I mentioned yet that I’m ready for them to go back?  Well, I am.  Heck – I was ready for them to go back the day after Christmas.

Sorry if I’ve burst your bubble, but we’re not one of those nostalgic families that Norman Rockwell would have featured in The Saturday Evening Post.  Don’t get me wrong – I love my boys with all my heart and will do whatever it takes to protect and support them.  But most days, I just want everyone to get up, dressed and have breakfast without feeling like a nag, negotiating breakfast options, or handling a near-meltdown situation.  The sheer fact that we’ve spent this much time together as a family and navigated two holidays without too many meltdowns (kiddos or ours), renting out our child, or turning to alcohol before noon is a great improvement over past holiday breaks.

But the biggest joy that I’ve experienced this holiday break has been the sentence kiddo has uttered to me at least once every single day since he’s been home:  “Could I have some Mom Time, please?”  (Yes, I’ve determined it deserves capitalization.)

Most days, the question comes as I’m finishing my dinner.  Kiddo is almost always done eating first (isn’t every kid?) and, after asking to be excused (to which we almost always say “yes” in the hopes of having a few minutes to talk uninterrupted) he clears his place from the table…and then comes back.

Without fail, he will sidle up to me, beckon with his incredible baby blues and a slight smirk, and begin to rub his hand along my arm before posing the question.  Have I mentioned that I’m toast at the sight of those eyes and that smile?  Or that I simply melt whenever someone rubs my arms (or shoulders or back or head) in a calm and nurturing manner?  Oh, yeah – this kid has some serious skills when it comes to getting what he wants!

The first time he did it, I was speechless.  Really, I was so surprised at his request that it took me a minute to tell him, “Of course we can spend some time together!”  Prior to kiddo’s request, we had been clashing a lot.  Really – it was tough.  He seemed intent on testing every boundary I set and I felt like I was constantly riding his hide to ensure he adhered to them.  I felt like I was such a hard-ass while hubby got all the fun/play time with him.  So, to have him pose this question out of the blue (at least to me) was a shock.  And it totally melted my heart.

I always ask him how he wants to spend our time together and haven’t vetoed any choices thus far.  So far, our “Mom Time” has included reading, doing the sing-along and read-along items on the “Santa Tracker” channel on U-verse, playing Putter Pool, coloring, cutting and pasting, baking cookies, trading massage and playing lots of board/table games together.  Regular favorites include Connect Four, Jenga, and Pallina (a newer, bamboo version of Kerplunk, from my childhood in the 70s).  Tonight’s choice was Operation and we had a good time until kiddo’s nervous system got distressed by the buzzer.  Thank goodness the game has an “off” switch.

I’m not sure where he got the idea to specifically ask for my time like that (hubby denies any accountability), nor how long he will keep up the requests, but I plan to honor every single one of them.  I know he’s going to continue to grow and change so I am going to enjoy these moments while I can.  With any luck, they might even continue after he goes back to school on Monday.