Yesterday was one of those days that I won’t forget, and worthy of a gratitude-a-thon, but not really spent doing anything that could be described as spectacular. I had a day with my boy. And while we did nothing out of the ordinary, it was exceptionally special.
Ally and Peter left for a soccer game in Maine, so they were going to be out of the picture until 10ish. Jake had shattered the face of his eye phone the day before, which needed emergency attending to, and I had also promised him some new shorts, so a shopping trip was in order. We went to the Chestnut HIll Mall for Apple triage (it wasn’t that easy, unfortunately), followed by a cruise through J. Crew and Vineyard Vines. On the way home, we stopped at Portobello Road for a birthday gift for a friend, the AT&T store, for more phone surgery, and finally La Rotisserie for lunch outside in the sun. Once home, we made the necessary calls to get a new iphone delivered to us, but found instead that we had purchased Apple care at the AT&T store, which meant we could drive back to Apple and get a phone for a tidy sum of $50. (Why exactly Apple and AT&T didn’t know this is still a question I have.) And while I was fairly sure that Apple was not open, the idea of not having a phone for the night, let alone the next day, was an impossibility that coerced Jake into convincing me to drive my sorry ass back to the mall.
And speaking of driving, Jake did it. Now, he does not have his license, but he is doing the necessary time behind the wheel in order to get it in the next month. Peter has been doing all his driving with him, and it was only the night before, when we went to the Boston Medical Center gala that I experienced Jake in the driver’s seat. Astonished, I had to admit, after witnessing his instincts on Storrow Drive and in the Ted Williams tunnel, that he was actually a good, solid driver. Anyway, he drove the whole day, and it was great not worrying about where my keys were, since they were in his pocket. Of course, I was right, and the mall closed at 6:00, so we got a consolation prize and headed to Pinkberry for dinner. Once home, when Jake should have been finishing his senior paper, we instead chose to watch an action movie. Neither of us wanted the day to end. We both acknowledged what a truly great day it had been, and I could tell he had the same warm and fuzzy feeling inside that I had. It was that simple, and that perfect, all at the same time.
The thing is, that I don’t just love my son in that parental way that we love our children, I LIKE HIM, TOO. He’s smart and charming and funny. And he is practically always a good time to be with. We get each other in a way that is unusual and amazing. We’re quite similar and it allows being with each other to be as easy as breathing. We talked about a bunch of stuff, some important, some just mundane. At one point, I cried about how much I would miss him, and he assured me that he would miss me too. I told him how much I liked him, and he told me how much he liked me, as well, both agreeing how different, and in some ways, more powerful this is than loving someone. He told me he couldn’t believe what amazing parents he’d gotten to have. And I believe him, because despite the early year of being in A.D.D. land with him, this kid has been a privilege and a pleasure to raise.
Anyway, that’s it. That was my day. There were lots of other moments that I will keep close and pull out next year when he is in college. But yesterday was one of those perfect days of grabbing the moment and making it sing. So grateful to know Jake. So fucking grateful to be his mom.
*the gratitude-a-thon 