Despicable Me

My baby just turned 10 years old. (I can’t believe it.)

And I took him on a date last night to dinner (Jason’s Deli salad bar) and to see Despicable Me.

I got him and his sister (turning 13) really nice bikes for their birthdays. All four of my kids were born (as made semi-infamous on primetime television) within 3 weeks of each other. My oldest son is getting a date with me to some MLB Rays games (his favorite team) in Tampa. My oldest daughter is getting scuba lessons and a trip to Catalina to dive with me.

Rather selfish gifts, I know—all of them time with Mom doing something fun.

So Tennyson had asked me if when we got home (at 10 p.m.!) if we could go for a bike ride. (I will tell you later about my new Cannondale carbon-frame road bike I can lift with one finger–I am in love with it. Ten and I have been itching to ride, ride, ride.) I said “Sure, if you change into a white shirt.”

We rode in silence for a few minutes and he said, “Mom. I have a weird feeling in my stomach.”

Not something I’ve ever heard from him before. I said, “You’re worried about something.”

“Yes.”

“Well,” I probed, “shall we skip the bike ride?”

“Yes.”

“Does that make your stressed tummy go away?”

“Yes.”

We’ve been discussing how Momof3 finds her mother-in-law’s visits stressful because of their very disparate ideas about what is good for Momof3’s children, nutritionally.

What’s important and what’s not? It’s smart to sometimes let go of the need to CONTROL and remind yourself, “It is just food, after all.”

I know, that doesn’t sound like something I would say. But there is that occasion when grace and larger issues (such as relationships) dictate just “letting it go.” I’m not at all convinced that Momof3 should “just let it go” every time her in-laws come for a week. Only she knows that for sure. But my point is, your gut tells you things.

Does it matter? Or doesn’t it?

I trust my intuition as a mom. I have 17 years of experience and therefore more confidence in what my gut tells me, than I did 15 years ago.

One of the most important things I would tell moms is to TRUST INSTINCT. It’s valuable. After all we can read and ponder academically, I love that intuition guides me and you. It’s God-given and it takes us the rest of the way.

Posted in: Relationships, Whole Food