Pause button

I love a lot of things about my kids, but especially the intriguing conversations that I often get the privilege of sharing with them.

Gabe is growing up before my eyes…literally. One day he needs me to pour his milk, help him with his shoes and help him in the bathroom. The next day he’s asking me to set his alarm so that he can wake up like a ‘grown up’ and doesn’t even want me in the bathroom while he’s taking a bath. Why does this have to happen?

We have some pretty intelligent people in this world, so I’m certain that there is someone out there that can create a ‘pause’ button to install on our kids so that they stay little forever…or at least until we’re ready to hit the ‘resume’ button.

We were on the way back from my grandma’s last night (it’s only a 10 minute car ride) and Gabe was in a talking mood. Then again, when isn’t he in a talking mood? He takes after his mother :) He was really worried about a little secret that he and Daddy shared…that Matt almost cut his finger off with a chainsaw. This proceeded to lead to a detailed discussion about what happens when kids don’t have Mommies and Daddies and what would happen if something happened to one of us. “Do kids still eat?” he asked (of course this was a concern). “Do kids with no parents still get to do fun stuff? Who takes care of them if they lose their Mommy and Daddy?” The most interesting question he asked, in my opinion, was, “What do I do if I wake up in the morning and you and Daddy have been taken away by a robber?” What goes through this kid’s head?

I assured him that there was no need to have these concerns (my goodness…he’s only 5) and that he should feel confident that Mommy and Daddy are going to make sure that he and Nate and Adri are taken care of. He was happy with my reassurance and went on to inform me that if Daddy and I did get taken away by robbers, that he’d like to live with Mamaw Mary and Papaw John because they’d make sure he had ice cream and M&M’s everyday. But he didn't want to live at their house because their dog is too big. I guess we better make sure Mamaw and Papaw are prepared for those dental expenses, too! Ha!