My Dear Boy,
I want to tell you about a time that is special to me.
It’s no secret that school mornings at our house are hectic. Getting ourselves out the door is hard, especially when we’d both rather stay home together, snuggled up and with a day of playing ahead of us.
It’s an enormous feat just getting us and our bags to the car. You always run back to grab your blanket and carefully select two toy cars for the ride, no matter how late we are inevitably running.
Some mornings though? Our morning car time together is just the best. It’s just me and you, your sweet voice and ideas and observations and requests filling our time together.
Sometimes we just chat about the things we see. You love noticing the school buses and CATA buses, and you comment on every interesting vehicle, construction truck, or tractor we pass. You are a keen observer, spotting animals, traffic lights, lines of traffic, and yard decorations as we pass. Sometimes we count farm animals. How many cows did we see today? Do the horses have their blankets on? Are the goats out?
Other times, we play our special games. I Spy, and Guess the Number, and the Horn Game. The Horn Game is really a Guess the Animal game, but one of the first times we played, I gave you a clue about a cow having horns, and now every time we play, we have to say whether this particular animal has horns or not.
Often, you make song requests. “Hey Siri, play Baby Beluga on Spotify.” Or: Wheels on the Bus, Baby Bumblebee, Brush Your Teeth, Days of the Week song, You’ve Got a Friend in Me, the Lollipop Song, Icky Sticky Bubble Gum, or You’re Welcome from Moana.
When your brother was your age, we counted tractor trailers, and the dots on the road, and looked for the restaurant with the cow on the roof, and listened to Thunder by Imagine Dragons and We Will Rock You more times than I can count.
With both of you, we’d make calls to Mimi or Pappy or back home to Daddy to tell him something exciting we just saw. Although, I must say, you’ve gotten stubborn about making those phone calls lately. I think you just want more Mommy time.
And sometimes? You tell me your worries or what you’re excited about. Your friends at school. Your teachers. And what snacks you want when we get home later. “Mommy, can we go to the library after school today?” or “Mommy, when we get home today can we watch something and cuddle?”
Already, your big brother doesn’t get morning car rides with me anymore. He rides the bus to school, something you can’t wait to do someday. That day will be here before you – before I – know it.
Our morning car rides won’t last forever, but the memory? I will hold these moments in my heart.