This one was brought to you by the letter B

On Wednesdays, in between the chaotic rush that looks more like the ten feet in front of the stage at some crazy ass show than it resembles kindergarten pick-up and Tiny Tigers class at Tae Kwon Do, we stop off at Starbucks. There, the nice barista lady always greets Lil E by name and we always settle in to the big chairs with coffee (me), chocolate milk (him) and miniature scones (him, and me when he's not looking) to talk about the day and do homework.

I love that calm in between the two storms. I love that there's no room for cell phones or work emails or anything else between us other than the Jolly Phonics notebook, a Ziploc full of markers and kid scissors and glue sticks, and our over-priced, highly sugared snacks.

Today, we centered on the letter B. He wanted to write out brontosaurus, bunny, bike and several attempts at his dad's first name. But like Electric Company has never completely left my brain, I kept thinking, baby, boy, break, blessed.

His hands are covered in scone icing and marker (I didn't even tell him to use the b-b-brown one this time...he's just that damn good) when we say goodbye to the barista and head over to the martial arts studio. He's ready to jump-front kick and knife-hand strike, but I am more settled, my ever-on-fast-forward brain is still. All of that in arguably some of the most important 45 minutes of the week.

P.S. Have you read this brilliant post over at Motherhood Uncensored? Kristen''s busy with a brand new baby while I'm left bawling at everything she said here that I couldn't get out myself. Yes, I know she has four children and I have one. Still...you know, the very notion of any number of kids growing up is emotional. Anyway, I don't link out nearly enough anymore to the posts I've read and kept open in a window for days just to inspire and remind me of how lucky I am to be in this business of spilling guts all over your screen. So here goes. Affirm my decision to do this more often.

Comments

[Mat]

That post reminds me of Toy Story 3. I was a puddle after that movie. It just totally broke my heart. Our job is to get them to the point where they can go off on their own... but it's hard to imagine wanting them to go off without me.