So, I've been pretty quiet lately (well, at least in the blogsphere.) I know, very unusual! In part, it was because I felt like my stories of my son might be fascinating to me, but would they be to others? In part, dealing with being a full-time flying solo momma while hubs is living near Chicago. (Jackson and I are planning to move there as soon as we can sell our house in Kansas City. Anyone want to buy a house? I'll give you a killer deal!)
Our fall has been very pleasant. Jack and I have driven up a few times to visit Lino in Chicago. I discovered I actually really enjoy driving and seem to do it well without fatigue. I'm excited for the new transition and think Chicagoland will be a great fit for us. We feel like, while this may be a difficult change to make in some ways, it's God's Hand leading us. So it will be worth the challenges. The hardest part for us all so far has just been the separation and missing the minute details of daily life.
We did get to spend a week together, along with my family, in The Smokies. It was gorgeous scenery and fantastic company. We had a wonderful time, including a long overdue date night. (Thanks, Mom and Dad!) Lino came home this past weekend for Thanksgiving. It marks the first time he's been back in the KC area since he moved in the middle-endish of September. That's a long time to be away from home! He returned back to Chi-town on Sunday and work on Monday.
One of the primary reasons I decided to blog tonight is because my knucklehead cracked me up tonight! We were hanging out in the den when he ran into the kitchen, decided something, and came running back to me. "Cu Cu Cu," he kept saying. I finally realized he was asking to color. So I set out crayons and a sheet from a coloring book. He thanked me politely and sat down to color. A few minutes later I hear, "I DID IT!!!" and he came running full speed at me with paper in hand. Yes, he had done an excellent job of scribbling all over the page. But his pride and exuberance were so precious! I told him he did a good job.
Then he shocked me by showing me that he can read. Yep, my two-year-old can read. But only invisible writing. You see, evidently, my forehead reads, "Sucka!"
He started saying, "bye-bye!" I said "bye" back to him and didn't think too much about it. He often says "Bye" for absolutely no reason. I guess he had a reason this time. He came back with his coat in hand. "Help," he said. I tried explaining that we didn't need to go anywhere. (Mind you, it's after 6 and freezing cold outside.) "Help. Bye," he insisted as he held out his coat. I smiled and relented (See? "Sucka!" And he knew it!) So I helped him on with his coat and told him to go get his shoes. He returned with his Elmo house shoes. "Eh, why not?" I decided. I put on my coat and boots and we headed out.
I put the radio on the Christmas station and we drove around looking at Christmas lights. After a couple of minutes, I asked him if we could go home yet. "NO!" he enthusiastically exclaimed. So we drove around a while longer. After about 10 minutes, he started giggling with delight every time we saw lights. We pulled back into our subdivision and I again asked if he was done and we could go home. This time, he conceded. We get out and he yells, "Bye-bye Car!" This child cracks me up! He asked to go to bed once we got home and was super-snuggly while reading a story.
Yes, my child can read me like a book and play me like a fiddle. And someday, that may be a very, very bad thing. But tonight, it was just what I needed. I'm pretty sure I had as much as he did. And I can't think of better company to have done it with (except, of course, to add his daddy to the outing.) So next time he comes at me with a coat, I'll probably say yes again. And I know I'll treasure those tiny, tender moments when my son wants to go out in public with his mommy.
