Moments of Motherhood

There are moments in life when I wish I could stop time. Stay in that moment forever. Never forget the feeling, the faces, the words. I frequently feel this way when I am spending time with my boys. I will feel my throat catch and my breath gets taken away. I could almost just break down and cry thinking about it.

A couple of nights ago I was reading a bed time story to the boys. I decided I would pick the book this time. We usually let them each pick one (or two, or three...) but on this night I had a particular book in mind that we had not read in quite a while. It was Love You Forever.

This book is a children's classic. The first time I read it I thought it was a little weird but after a while it grew on me. The boys like the funny pictures of the little boy growing up and driving his Momma crazy. They also like the little song that the Momma sings to the boy while rocking him. It goes like this:

I'll Love You Forever

I'll Like You For Always

As Long As I'm Living

My Baby You'll Be

The Momma sings this little song to the boy all throughout his life. Even as he grows to be bigger than she is, she still holds him and sings to him.

I was reading to the boys and they were laughing at the funny parts and smiling at the sweet parts. There is a kitty cat that appears throughout the book and since we recently aquired four (yes, 4!) kittens, they have taken a liking to cats. I read about the boy growing up and moving into his own house across town. The mom drives to her son's house in the middle of the night to sing to him. It is a little weird but I can totally relate to the mothering instinct she must be feeling. I finished reading and closed the book. 

As I was tucking my little munchkins under the covers, I asked Benjamin if it would be ok for me to drive to his house in the middle of the night to sing to him when he grows up and moves out. 

My precious little five year old looked at me and said, 'Momma, I am NEVER going to move out. I am going to stay with you FOREVER.'

I said, 'What about when you get married? Your wife might want to live in her own house and not with me.'

He replied, 'I am not getting married, Momma. All I need is you.'

That was a moment I felt my throat catch and my breath get taken away. That is a moment I wish I could freeze in time. Right now, my little boy loves me so much that he cannot imagine a time without me.

I will hold this memory in my mind when he becomes a teenager and acts crazy like the teenage boy in the book. I will remember this moment when he brings his first girlfriend home to meet his Dad and I.

But right now, I am basking in the blessing of having two boys that love their Momma and Daddy so much that they want to stay with is FOREVER.