On my list of 30 Things, I had a 'Mommy/Son' date. I've been wanting to start these for a while; in fact, Jarrod and I have talked about how we want to do Mommy/Son and Daddy/Daughter dates with the kids, and I knew putting it on my list would be a good way to get them going. I hadn't planned anything, but then a couple weeks ago, I won tickets to see Guess How Much I Love You from the local news station. Since it was just two tickets, we decided this would be a great chance for our date!
We were both so excited about our date. Gavin talked about it all week, and we made it a big deal! He picked out his bow tie, and helped me pick out my outfit. And then, yesterday came...and tragedy struck. The tears wouldn't stop as my babies were sleeping in their beds and I watched the coverage of the Connecticut school shooting. I was going through the emotions as a parent, trying to imagine the immense pain those mothers and fathers were feeling. And, I was going through the emotions as a teacher, thinking about my old classroom, imagining what I would've done had this happened in my school. It was an emotionally draining day, and I couldn't pull myself away from the coverage.
But, then this little guy woke up, and I had to turn it off. I was glad to turn it off and focus on him. I pulled him into my lap and squeezed him so tight and told him how much I loved him and all he said was, "I can't wait for our date!" ::melt.my.heart.::
When Jarrod got home, Gavin and I hurried into the car and headed south toward the theater. It was rush hour, the highway was wet from the rain, and there was an accident tying up traffic, so we were late. :( But we made the most of it, looking at Christmas lights along the way and holding hands as we ran across the parking lot into the theater to catch the last 40 minutes or so of the play.
For much of the play, Gavin sat on my lap. I love that he's still so little that those seats don't work well for him; they still fold up on him no matter how hard he tries. I held him so close and watched him, mesmerized by the puppets on the stage and listened to his questions and observations. I had to wipe away tears a few times, because I just felt so darn lucky that I was spending the evening with such an amazing little guy.
After the lights came back on and we were heading out, Gavin said, 'This is the best date ever! Thanks for bringing me here, Mom.' Seriously, I have the sweetest little boy. We walked around the lobby and looked at the Christmas decorations, then headed outside to see the sculptures outside. We giggled together as we had to crawl across the seats to get into our car because the car next to us had parked so close that we couldn't get in our side. So many little things that made the night so memorable. We ended our date at TCBY....
We finished up our ice cream and laughed together as we realized it had started raining again and were likely going to get drenched running to the car. It was getting later and later, but I really wasn't in any rush to leave. I was enjoying our night so very much. I am the luckiest.
Finally, we arrived home a little before 9, and Gavin fell fast asleep! I can't wait for our next date....I'm hoping to do these at least a few times a year now. And I'm so excited for when Riley is a little older and Jarrod can start his dates with her. Such special memories!
