It’s 12:58 am PST as I write this. Jack didn’t get to sleep tonight until about 11:30. I blame the green Jamba Juice (which I got for him, so it’s really my fault). However, despite the fact that I feel like a clueless, terrible Mommy, I’m going to write about an endearing moment that happened spontaneously this evening.
I picked Jack up from school and was bringing him to Jamba Juice for a pre-first-ballet-class snack. We were stopped at a red light when, out of the blue, he said, “Thank you for adopting me.”
Now, my first thought was that my son just said “thank you” without being prompted. My second thought was, “He shouldn’t be thanking me for adopting him.” Adoption isn’t about being grateful, at least not on the child’s part.
So I said, “You’re welcome. But you don’t have to thank me for adopting you. We’re very lucky to have such a wonderful son.”
Then Jack came back with, “And I’m glad that I have the goodest parents.”
I didn’t even correct his use of the non-word “goodest”. I thanked him and told him that Daddy and I do try to be good parents, and that we always love him, even when we don’t succeed. Jack then said he could listen better sometimes, and I agreed. Then, the light turned green.
My day job has been pretty terrible for my family. I end up working crazy hours for not so much pay on books that really don’t matter to anyone. I know that Jack has suffered for it, and I’m glad that I’ll likely be cutting back soon. Maybe then, I really can be the “goodest” mom.
