"I'm hungry, when I get home I want pizza and hot dogs and ice cream and a sandwich, ok mama?"
This is what I hear tonight on our ride home from school/work. At the time I didn't think much about my 3 year old's request because it sounds an awful lot like most nights on the way home when my growing boy is starving and wants to eat at every restaurant between school and home.
Tonight, it was different. We got home and Hayden decided on a turkey sammich with "chwips" and some pickles because "pickles are soo dood" I sat across from him and watched him eat every single morsel on his plate tonight. It made me think back to when he was a small child just beginning to try out new foods each day. I love watching him find foods he enjoyed and even those that he didn't. Those foods he didn't provided much amusement for me as his little face scrunched into a funny little shape while he was spitting back at me those awful puree peas.
Tonight, it was different. Tonight I saw my boy eating his food so he could grow up to be "big and strong" I saw him growing into a very handsome young boy who has his own thoughts and opinions and his very own little personality. Staring at that sweet face as he took each bite melted my heart and I was overwhelmingly grateful for this little boy, he's happy, he's healthy he's loved and most of all, he's mine. He enjoyed each bite and smiled at me between bites to tell me about his day and who his friends were that he enjoyed "pwaying" with.
No, I didn't make a special gourmet meal tonight, I didn't slave over the stove for hours. I simply threw a couple of sandwiches together and enjoyed every little minute with my very special little man. I have so much to be thankful for... and it's the little things that get me by day to day.
