“Can I helpsyou, Mommy?”
“No thank you, Sammy love. Mommy just needs to finish up dinner really quickly and then we can eat. Why don’t you go play with your brothers?”
Sammy traces the grout between the kitchen tiles with his big toe, while his shoulders and trunk twist back and forth — a study in perpetual motion. “Nah…I not leave you by youself,” he avers. “I got to take care of you.”
Focused only on making it to the end of at least one task today, I soldier on, “But Sammy, Mommy likes being alone. It doesn’t scare me at all.”
All motion stops as he looks up at me, eyes brimming with concern. “No Mommy,” he explains. “When you by yourself, then you be lost. And that’s not good. I’ll stay here with you and keep you safe.”
The last word is delivered with a confident nod of his little, dark head. And I find myself nodding back, forgetting completely why I’d ever objected in the first place.
I finish cooking my dinner stepping over and around the my tiny guardian angel. He helps wipe the table and make sure his brothers come when they’re called. Soon he’s regaling us all with stories that begin “When I was a baby…” and seldom end without an encounter with a dinosaur or a pirate ship. The day passes into night and suddenly I’m alone.
As I sit here in the quiet that descends after bedtime is finally final, I realize I did feel quite a bit safer and maybe just a bit less lost with that little body nearby. And I find myself wishing I could bottle up even the smallest hint of Sam to share with the world. I have to think it would be a better place for it.
awwww, I hope my son will be as sweet as yours – what a love.
how absolutely gorgeous your sam is 🙂
Thanks, ladies! He is a gorgeous fellow…both inside and out.
Oprah needs to high-tail it to Alabama, kiss your perky backside and BEG you to be on her new network. Working on the premise of your show in my small head ………..
Sam is a total love. You’re so lucky to have him as your protector. Dinosaurs and pirates don’t stand a chance when you’ve got Sam.
Dear cuddly Sam. Love.
That’s such a cute story. Aww.
As is the normal response from me, I’m crying!!! I am so glad you are writing this stuff down. You will enjoy reading about it when they are grown and you are actually alone. I must warn you, it is not as much fun as it sounds right now when you seldom have a moment to yourself. My Andrew will marry his sweetheart in August and my Taylor will move on to an out of town college in the spring. My nest will be empty and I’m feeling very ill equipped to handle being alone. But….I too will reach for the items placed in my “someday” file and life will move forward as planned.