It was Rebecca who recently posted the "25 Rules for Mothers of Sons".
And when I read number 25. Be Home Base, it took me back to the Friday after Christmas.
Jim had a golf date with a co-worker and friend, Parker slept for several hours, and I sat in our front doorway watching Jake ride his bike. His friend, Gage, who lives across the street came out to ride his with his older siblings and his dad. I just watched and stepped in and out to make sure Baby was still sleeping. Paul asked if Jake could take it to the playground for a while because they were all going, and I said, "Yeah, that'll be great. I would go with you, but Parker's still snoozing." They left, and I wondered if I should have let him go. That was the first time he's left home to go somewhere with a friend and his parent, and I was all, "Should I have let him do that?", and People, I.got.nervous. They came back, and I heard them outside again, and I ran out just in time for him to yell, "Mommy, can I play at Gage's house?" I thought well...if that went well, then this will too, so I said, "Sure you can!", and I waved. I let him play for nearly an hour (until I felt like it had been long enough and until Parker woke up), and we walked to the house across the street to get our Brother. I thought, "This is how it's gonna be! When he's ten, this is how it will feel! I'll see him at dinner and if he lets me in his room."
I took him to McDonald's for lunch and told him how much I missed him and brought him home and played games with him in his room until I felt like I had made up for lost time.
I shared it all with Jim later that day (or maybe the next) - how these days weren't gonna last and he's growing up, and I may have even gotten out of control and said something along the lines of "We're losing him." He said the perfect thing to me, and I'll never forget it..."Yeah, but when he gets hurt...guess who he'll come crying to?" Ooooh, that was a good one. I promise I told him he had just said the most wonderful thing he's ever spoken to me, and I had instant peace.
Confirmation. Here's number 25....
You are home to him. When he learns to walk, he will wobble a few feet away from you and then come back, then wobble away a little farther and then come back. When he tries something new, he will look for your proud smile. When he learns to read, he will repeat the same book to you twenty times in a row, because you're the only one who will listen that many times. When he plays his sport, he will search for your face in the stands. When he is sick, he will call you. When he really messes up, he will call you. When he is grown and strong and tough and big and he feels like crying, he will come to you; because a man can cry in front of his mother without feeling self-conscious. Even when he grows up and has a new woman in his life and gets a new home, you are still his mother; home base, the ever constant, like the sun. Know that in your heart and everything else will fall into place.
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