Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Pop Quiz


It’s 3:17 AM. My son calls me to his bedroom.

“Mama? I am awake.”

“Me too. Kind of.”

“Will you wait here while I fall asleep?”

“Sure, buddy.”

I pull out the default waiting area from under Bob’s bed: a large floor pillow (OK fine, it’s a dog bed) with a pillow and a couple of quilts. I settle in.

“Good night, Mama.”

“Good night, honey.”

“Mama? Does God want me to be happy?”

“Um... I think God wants us to have a full life which means that sometimes you will be happy and sometimes you will be sad. Most of all I think God wants you to grow and help others and let him handle the big stuff.”

“That sounds OK, Mama.”

“Good night, pal.” I quietly pat myself on the back for coming up with this answer on the fly at 3:30 in the morning.

“Mama? Why is God the only one that doesn’t die?”

“It’s time to go to sleep now. We can talk more in the morning.” My thinker hurts.

“Mama? Can I sleep down there with you?”

“It’s very small down here.”

“It’s OK. I’m very small. You can hold my hand, Mama.”

I do. We fall asleep.

16 comments:

  1. what a sweet story. thanks for sharing!!

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  2. Good answer. Better than I could have come up with in the middle of the night!

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  3. Could you be any more adorable?

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  4. this couldn't be any sweeter. my heart melted a little more with every sentence.

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  5. Aw, your thinker hurts, but the heart hurts more, huh. Terrific post; terrific-er kid.

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  6. Awwwww. *Melt* goes the heart. Again. That boy is such a dear.

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  7. I love these moments, so glad you shared it.

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  8. Is that Flicker in the background? From Handy Manny? Is it a real working flashlight? My son would LOVE that if it was.

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  9. I'm so glad you posted this. Who would have thought some of the best convos come at 3:30 in the morning.

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  10. It's OK. I'm very small. You can hold my hand mama...

    Oh crap. I'm going to cry! Love that!

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  11. Next time I'm awake at 3 in the morning, I am hoping you will show up to hold my hand and get me back to sleep. You are a good, good mama.

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  12. wah, that is the sweetest thing I"ve ever read. I'm so loving this stage of the boy (10 months) but you've given me a nice gift of looking forward to his older god-question-asking self. I only hope I can show up for his future self as delightfully as you did for Bob...

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