My Kid

Every day, since that most wonderful one of Thor’s arrival, has been Mother’s Day for me.

I don’t know how I lucked into this kid, who is as easy to like as he is to love.  He is smart, he is funny, he is compassionate, and he is always up for hugs.  He’s too big to burrow into me like he did as a toddler, but he’s found workarounds.  Every day I tell him how much I love him, and every day I am rewarded with the same.  I take none of it for granted.

If I’m doing my job right, eventually this magical unicorn child will leave the nest, and he’ll go make a new life separate from me.  But, if I’m raising the person I think I am, I’ll have the benefit of his friendship.

He has made me a better person in a hundred ways.

This was one of the candid photos from the LTYM show, last month.  I love that little face looking out over his grandmother’s shoulder, tucked right into my side.

We just spent the past hour wadded up on the sofa, watching Top Gear together, he and I.  Now and then, he would reach over and grab my head, wrench it back toward him and hug me as hard as he could.  He said, “I just can’t be close enough to you!  I love you too much!”

You know, I’m still surprised that he loves me back with such enthusiasm.  I know how much I love him, but since he’s been old enough to express fondness, I’ve been surprised at how much he loves me.  I was happy just to be The Food Source, and be appreciated for making sure his belly was full, and his hiney was dry.  What a delight to be appreciated as a person, and loved as an individual.