Today was one of those days that was full of 'little boy' moments. Jake fell into the bathtub where his 'Grow A Lizard' was soaking (it's going to be three feet long!!!), Chase sliced his finger up trying to figure out how my rotary cutter worked and then proceeded to wipe the bloody finger all over my sewing chair, and both of them got the giggles over a joke that Jake read in his Highlights magazine. But, the two moments that really caught my attention made me want to freeze time.
This morning, while waiting for Chase to have an x-ray, Jake moved my bag off of my chair and crawled up into my lap. All 50 pounds of his seven-year old self, lanky legs dangling, head leaned back on my shoulder. And just as I was about to tell him he was too big for this and that he should move to his own chair, I stopped. I thought about how he really was seven, and for all I knew this could be the last time he ever asks to sit in my lap. And I squeezed him a little tighter and let him stay.
Later on in the day we decided to go for a walk. I put Leia in the stroller and both boys hopped on their scooters for a zip through the neighborhood. Our custom is for them to get ahead of me, but stop at each corner to wait. They had been out of sight for a few seconds and as I crested a small hill, I saw both boys down on the sidewalk, scrawny arms at right angles, helmets glinting in the sun as they . . . did pushups. It was hysterical. What was even more funny was the way they then jumped to their feet, shaking their arms and muttering "Whew! That was a good workout!" But the icing on the cake was when Chase, still oblivious to my presence, bent his skinny little arm up into a show-off pose and said, "And see, Jake? Look at my muscles!" Too cute for words. And I really did want to freeze the moment when, on a sunny summer day they were just so happy and cute and being such classic little boys.
So hopefully when I think back on this period in our lives I will forget about the fights over cleaning the play room, and the crying over nothing and remember moments like these ones. Because they make me feel like the most blessed mommy in the world.
