At the grocery store today I witnessed a very touching moment... it made me smile to myself thinking someday that would be me. I walked by a mother with her son who was probably between the ages of 8 and 10... that age where having your mother kiss you or hug you is "totally uncool". The woman reached out, grabbed her son, and hugged him randomly, kissing the top of his head afterward. His quick response was "Mom... there are people around! People!!" and she matter of factually stated "I don't care". I thought it was sweet and touching to see this mother still reaching out to be affectionate with her son, even though he thinks its "totally uncool".
That moment made me reflect on all the things as a child I never fully appreciated but as an adult do. There is a moment that to this day still stands out in my mind. I always was one of those kids that had lunch from home... buying lunch was a privilege and I only did it maybe once a month. I of course always wanted to buy lunch like my friends because they got things like pizza and chicken nuggets and I got soup and tuna fish sandwiches. However bringing my lunch from home had one advantage that buying lunch didn't... love notes. My mom would randomly pack little love notes in my lunch for me. One day she made me a sandwich and created a heart in the middle of the bread. I still remember to this day feeling special seeing that sandwich. And these lunches didn't end in elementry school... no, even in high school i had a few little love notes stuck in to my lunch. These little notes and moments were my moms way of saying "I Love You" and reminding me of just how special I was.
I know today that little boy in the grocery store thinks his mom is embarrassing him, but in 10 years he'll look back and smile thinking about how much is mom loved him. If there is one thing in life I want to do, I want to make sure that Eirik knows just how loved he is no matter what. I want him to look back as an adult and go "my mom loved me". And even if it means I have to put up with the "mom, you're embarrassing me!" or "There are people looking!!" I am going to be that mother who tells her son she loves him every day, kisses him every night, and hugs him in public. I know that one day he'll grow up to be an adult who will cherish all those moments.
Ok, this just made me cry!
ReplyDeleteWell, Bill is happily looking forward to embarrassing our son as often as possible, so yea, hopefully Finnley will appreciate it as an adult.
ReplyDeleteMy mom always packed my lunch too, even in highschool. And I always showed her notes to my friends! And, I still remember coming home from first grade and having a snack waiting for me. Bologna rolled on a plate, a piece of cheese cute diagonal and mustard "antenas" to make me a butterfly snack. Still awesome and when I really miss her, I make that for me. But I NEED practice... :-)