So, the other night, right before I fell asleep, I asked my little coauthor (a.k.a. Tank; a.k.a. Ollie) if he could please bring me a glass of water.
The next morning, Paul pointed out to me, “Did you notice the glass he used?”
Regrettably… at the time… I was very tired and did not. I did think, Oh wow. This is a nice glass.
But I was far too out of it to realize, Oh wow. This is one of our best glasses, passed down to us from grandma, that’s kept on one of the top-most shelves. Tank would’ve had to get a stool to get it. This took A LOT OF FREAKING EFFORT TO GET.
I asked for water. To show me how much he cares, he didn’t JUST get me water. He got a stool, to get the very best glass, to get me the best darn cup of water I could ever have.
He’s 8 years old, by the way.
The stool was still in front of the cupboard the next morning.
Also. The other night, my little coauthor burst into my room and said in a very matter-of-fact voice, “MOM, I LOVE YOU MORE THAN ANYONE AND EVERYTHING ELSE IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE. THAT’S IT.”
And then he left.
He also woke me up the other night by taking my hand and telling me, “Mom, I need you to know how much I love you.” He teared up.
WHAT A FREAKING SWEETHEART ANGEL CHILD.
I AM SO LUCKY.
When I say being a mom is the best thing in the entire universe… these are not empty words. It really is. Everything else is secondary. This—THIS—is EVERYTHING to me. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS.
Seeing this kid climb up to the top of my wardrobe because he saw my witch hat, and decided he had to have it, and then start brewing stuff; seeing him build a massive pillow fort that he completely disappeared into; seeing him create very his OWN unique character to be for Halloween…
And then, when I want to completely SQUISH his school bully like a bug, only for him to tell me, “Mom… I think she’s grieving… do you know what the 5 stages of grief are?” And basically tell me how she’s probably being mean because she’s in pain…
What a beautiful soul!!
I am so grateful I got this chance to be a mom. Everything worth living for is right here.
When you put your kids first, the rest of the world falls into its proper place.
📚🌹
