I recently bought pre-cooked, frozen sausage after America’s Test Kitchen liked it better than “regular.” So, I got mild turkey since I don’t want a gazillion grams of fat & the kids don’t like spicy. Theo (4 years old) has been enjoying veggie sausage for a long time. When I nuked the turkey stuff, I let him know it would be different & hoped he would like it.
After breakfast, I asked him which he preferred. He looked at me & said “Mommy, sausage is like cheese, and I like all cheese…”
Today, I chatted with one of the gentle, nice ladies who watch the kids at the Y while parents exercise. Many wear headscarves & sometimes they talk to each other in a language I do not know. When I see them at the store, they ask about my kids, and only have eyes for them when I come to drop them off, nodding at me briefly. Theo loves them. Last year, one brought pastries for “your Christmas” & they told me I was the only mother who allowed her child to have one. (When I picked him up, he was sitting on the lap of one while another fed him what looked like baklava, I doubt he had just “one.”)
I overheard a Y member exercising & talking about how “they” should speak English up there. It really angered me. Who cares what they speak to each other? They speak English to me. Today, one of the ladies told me she was from Iran & I couldn’t help thinking about the images we are getting in the media about that country. If it is so horrible, how did such sweet ladies come out of it? Just a thought. A realization that everything is not as clear as you first think.
We lost power last night while Theo was in the bath. Nathan lit candles all over the house while I sat with Theo so he wouldn’t get scared. I held his soapy hand with Becca in the other arm.
Nathan then started a fire & we all ate the melting ice cream from the freezer. I nursed Becca by candle light in complete silence a few moments later.
I noticed how pretty our house is by the flickering light. You don’t see dust, cobwebs, child crayon marks, or fingerprints. Just shadows, lines, and warm expressions. It seemed almost meditative to talk softly while watching the fire.
I read to Theo by flashlight in his bed and then let him blow out the candles. We read in bed by candle light after the kids went to sleep & enjoyed the sounds of rain on the roof.
It is amazing how peaceful it is without electronic distractions. We fell asleep about 9 pm!
I was jolted awake by all of the lights coming back about 10 & walked around the house, slightly sad, turning them off. It all looks so harsh under electric light. I remembered losing power when we were kids being a great adventure.
I told Theo he could pick where we went on our morning errand. So, in the car, I ask “do you want to go to Target or Toys R Us?” “Toys?” “Yes, Theo, Toys R Us or Target?” “TOYS, TOYS, TOYS!” So, off we go, to use my $10 gift certificate). I let him pick which ever Thomas train he wants. He lights up when he sees Salty and hands it to me, pointing out the ones he knows “Edward, Emily, Henry…”
So, we are checking out (takes forever, the stockboys gather ’round Theo, admiring his Air Jordans, which made him really shy), and they ask him if he wants to sign up for the birthday club. “Of course” he says & everyone laughs.
We leave (the same way we came, in a monsoon) & he asks if Salty will fit on his track. He gets all excited when I tell him it will.
Rebecca falls asleep on the way home & Theo loves watching the rain & the big trucks on 75. I tell him I bought him Salty since he has been such a good boy. I tell him I know Rebecca has needed Mommy a lot & that he has been very patient waiting for my attention. All of this when he hasn’t even felt that well. I told him I was proud of him & that he was a wonderful big brother. He sat up so tall & smiled so big, like he would levitate off the seat.
I am sitting in the front, feeling all proud of myself for making this a lesson and helping raise such an angel. He tells me Rebecca is sleeping and that he won’t talk too loudly.
We get home & he vaults out of his seat to play with Salty, forgetting what he said & waking her, but she is smiling at him.
I bring her up the stairs, serene in my knowledge that our son is exceptional and our daughter will be as well.
As I pass him to get Rebecca’s lunch ready, he says “Mommy?”
“Yes Theo?”
(smiling sweetly)
“I want to go back.”
“Why Theo?” (Was it watching the trucks? Waiting for the rain to subside in the parking lot & talking about the sounds it made? My telling him how proud I was of him in the car?”)
…………………………..
“I need Henry too.”