A Special Date

It was a rough day. I wasn't in the greatest mood. The kids were bored with their surroundings and it seemed like every time I turned around, they were into something else they shouldn't have been. By the time Mike got home, I was pretty fried and frustrated. He told me to take off for awhile... have some time to myself and just be alone. I thought it sounded great! I decided to go and do some shopping... all by myself!! What a concept! I figured I'd hit Costco and Trader Joe's and then I'd leisurely meander through Border's. Hahahaha... that's what I get for making a plan!

I grabbed my shopping list, got my bag and headed off for some much needed alone time. As I approached the car, I could see a shadow in the back seat, happily waving to me. Ethan was in there, all buckled into his seat. As I opened the door, he quickly said, "I'm all ready to go mom!" I said, "No, Ethan. You're staying here." He said, "But I want to come shopping with you mom." And I said, "But you don't understand. The whole point of this trip was for me to go by myself." And to that he replied with a sentence that captured my heart... he threw out the line... I bit... and he reeled me in. He said, "But mom, I love you and I want to spend every waking moment of my life with you!" This... from a six-year-old. How on earth could I have possibly refused???? So I called Mike to let him know that Ethan was with me. He said, "No. You're supposed to go alone." And I said, "No, if you heard what I heard, you'd understand." And I think he got it.

Ethan was thrilled to be able to go out with me. "Just you and me mom. I love spending time with you when it's just the two of us." We got to Costco and he held onto the shopping list and read it off to me. (Have I mentioned how much he captures my heart that he can read so well???? More on that later!) We gathered up a ton of produce at Costco and he helped put each thing into the cart. We sampled ham and cheese roll-ups, chicken chimichangas, and Clif bars. And then we stood in line, where Ethan proudly unloaded the cart for me. And when it came time to pay, he got to swipe the card and then show the receipt to the checker at the door.

Then we headed to Trader Joe's and did a bit of shopping there. Again, he helped in every way possible, including bagging! Such a sweetie!

By this time, Mike had called me to let me know that he and Evan were going out by themselves. So I decided that we'd grab a bite to eat. Ethan chose one of his favorite restaurants... The Black Bear Diner. Mike and Evan tried to invite us along to have dinner with them, but Ethan told his dad that he wanted to spend every moment with his mom and that we already had plans! When we got there, he politely opened the door for me and then very proudly walked up to the hostess and said, "A table for two please." (Okay, can I just say that I'm tearing up as I write this?) She smiled and showed us to a table. He ordered lemonade. I ordered water. As I started to drink he said, "Wait. A toast?" So I held up my glass and he said, "To a great night together!" (More tears now.) We then sat and talked and colored and did puzzles together while we waited for our food. When our food came, he slid over and sat next to me and we shared what we had with each other.

So who is this kid? What happened to my newborn? And who gave him permission to be a mature young man at just six years of age? My heart swelled with pride and I fell in love with him all over again.

After we had dinner, I took him over to the Cold Stone Creamery for dessert. He was thrilled. We ordered our ice cream and sat at a table to eat together. He pulled out a chair for me. And then he graced me with more kind things... "Mom, this is the best date ever. I just love going on dates with you!" Earlier in the evening he had said, "I love you! Some day, I'm gonna marry you! Oh, but darn that law that says we can't marry each other!" I said to him, "It's okay Ethan. I can promise you that when you get old enough, you won't want to marry me. And besides, just knowing that you want to tells me how much you love me and that makes me so happy!"

As we walked back to the car at the end of our evening, he said, "This is some enchanted evening we're having isn't it?" And I couldn't deny it. So much for spending time alone. What started out as a way for me to get away and be by myself turned into the most amazing date a mother could possibly ask for with her six-year-old... and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything in the world!

Ethan - I love you SO MUCH!!!!!