A Week of Just the Two of Us
Sunday evening we dropped Jane off at Surf Camp. In the pre dawn hours Monday morning my husband left for New York. When the sun set Monday evening Alexander and I had spent the most time together uninterrupted since he’d learned to speak nine years ago.
Monday night we had hamburgers at the breakfast counter and not at the dining room table. We stayed up late, until about 9.30 and we watched TV together. I know it doesn’t sound important, but every moment was.
Tuesday afternoon we hung out and played Mille Bornes until 5 and then we walked to a movie and had hot dogs and popcorn for dinner. We saw the Green Lantern and Alexander and I both loved it. He held my hand and we walked and talked the long way home.
Today we went to the batting cages but I’d forgotten to bring the right batting helmet. We stopped for a hotdog and then headed back home. We’ve eaten an entire watermelon together and we’re thinking about going back to the batting cages but this time with the right helmet. The pool is overly warm at 88 degrees (I left the cover on too long) so we won’t swim until the sun goes down.
My son and I are close in a different way than my daughter and I are. It will always be different because one is a boy and the other a girl, further we treat our firstborn and our second children very differently. I’m a more relaxed mother for my son. I’ll never know if that’s because he’s a boy or if it’s because he’s my second. I just feel calm with him, like I know everything will be okay.
I’m not sure I’ll ever have the words to articulate the flavor of the week. I’d always thought of single child households as lonely ones. It’s quiet here, which is odd, but it’s nice. We’re enjoying a break from routine.