Beh has been so happy all winter break. Indescribably so. It's like he's beaming rays of joy. Laughing, singing all day. Even yesterday when I had to take him with me to pick up my new glasses, he was happy. I'd really hoped that I wouldn't have to have him with me, but alas there was no such respite. To be honest, I got tears in my eyes when I realized that I'd have to bring him with me because I feared the worst. On outings like this I find myself chanting a prayer in my head over and over as I drive along, "Please stay calm, please stay calm, please stay calm." New places are often traumatic for Beh, and I never know how he's going to react.
He reacted, well, just like any other six-year-old. He didn't have a meltdown; he just got a little squirrelly after a few minutes.
It's not only that he's been happy; he's also been understanding me when I talk to him. I ask him to get his shoes and put them on . . . and he does. Last night I asked him to finish the game he was playing on my iphone so he could go to bed . . . and he finished the last two moves then stood up and walked to his room, then crawled under his blankets.
In stunned amazement, I kept turning to Joe for the next hour and saying, "Did you see that? He went right to bed!"
It's such a simple thing to have a child go to bed when you ask him to, something that I'm sure a lot of parents take for granted. But for Beh, this is giant. Giant.
And just now I walked into his room . . . to find him making his bed.
This is Nick's winter break pattern--he thrives during these downtimes. Two years ago it was during winter break that he figured out how to use words. I know that school will start again next week and that Beh will be mentally taxed. He'll be in a state of sensory overload by the time he gets home and won't be able to process all that I say to him. I know that the joy exuding from him now will be replaced by exhaustion.
So I'm treasuring up in my heart all of these moments of awe. And trying to stop myself from scooping him up in big hugs every five minutes and telling him how grateful I am for these moments (boys don't want moms to interrupt their play that much, after all).
