No More Kisses!

Layton, Camden, and Jack- being manly

Jack and I spent 20 minutes looking for his beloved blankie last night. Yes, he still has a blankie. And yes, I am that mother who does not care because I am in no hurry for him to grow up. Anyway- after finding the blanket we both broke into excited laughter and jumped into bed. Jack was happy because he found his beloved. I was happy because I knew I was going to get a quiet night's sleep. Of course, that didn't last long. He then began to panic because he couldn't locate his "special corner" in the dark. (His special corner is his favorite part....the part where he twiddles his fingers through to put himself to sleep.) He was claiming someone must have stolen his special corner. I guess that's what panic will do to your brain, right? I turned on the light and found it immediately. His panic turned back into giggles- and that my friends- is what I love the most about Jack. His giggles are so cute they instantly cause me to attack him with kisses.

So I did, and as I was smothering him with kisses he pushed me away and said, "Mom...NO MORE KISSES!" I told him too bad. I am his mom and if he wants me to stop smothering him with kisses he needs to learn to stop being so cute. He then said, "Mom, you can't kiss me anymore, I am not a baby anymore, I am a MAN!" (um- a man with a blankie?)

It took a second for me to let that comment soak in, but that second was followed by gut wrenching laughter. We BOTH laughed, hysterically.....for a long time. It was THE cutest thing I have ever heard in my life. Even he knew how cute he was. I layed there in bed with him as he fell asleep and got a little teary as I thanked God for my kids and for every second I have with them. It was such an emotional day for me for reasons I won't say here, and I was worn out. But that comment took me out of a dark place and brought me back into light. It's those moments as a parent that make the worry, the struggle, the exhaustion, and the pains of motherhood- totally worth it.