Friday, June 05, 2009

My Caring Son

People amaze me, sometimes. I am sure that maybe some people think I do stupid things....all is good. Opinions of one are just as valid as opinions of another.

Here is a story of true love from my son!

When I picked up my nearly 7 year old son from first grade today, he excitedly told me that his class was going to have a picnic next Wednesday. I would not know that, since his mom does not leave me copies of the memos and news that he gets from his teacher.

He told me that his mom was going to buy juice boxes for the picnic, so he could take them to school on Monday. Then, out of the blue, as he often does..."Daddy, I have a Great Idea." "Why don't WE buy juice boxes and surprise mommy." Wow, he never ceases to amaze me. He is so very thoughtful. As he continues to grow and learn, I am certain his thoughtfulness will help many many people. I told him that was a terrific idea, and I asked what kind of juice boxes he wanted to get. He told me the kind that we get. We normally get the Honest Kids juice packets. We decided that we would check out Wal-mart, then Sam's Club, then Target. If all else failed, we knew there was some at Lucky's, but that was too long a drive, according to my wonderful son!

We checked out the juice isle at Wal-mart. They had an 8 pack of grape. That was all they had. He said that there are 20 kids in the class, and that he wanted the box that had all three flavors.

We then moved on to Sam's Club. I have purchased the Honest Kids juice there before, and they had plenty. We got the 24 pack with the three flavors, grape, tango punch and berry lemonade. He was really happy, and really excited that he could do this for his mom!

At the end of our day, I took him back to his mom's. He yelled from the car to her standing near the front of the house, "mommy, did you get juice boxes yet?" She answered, "no". He was overjoyed, now. He said, "WE did!". He grabbed the box of Honest Kids juice and brought it over to her. That is when she decided to suck every bit of excitement and joy from his thoughtful caring heart.

"How are you going to get these to school?" His mom asked. How was he going to get the juice she bought to school? She then asked me the same question. She had already deflated our son's happiness and joy, and by asking me, she squashed the last ounce of joy from him. I just don't know if she realizes how she affects his little psyche, when she does this stuff. I could see his shoulders immediately slump...he was truly hurt.

I then told her that He really wanted to surprise her by getting the juice. "But how is he going to get this box to school, along with his backpack?" Christopher chimed in with a solution. "We can put the juice in my backpack!" No, that was not going to work according to his mom. Again, I ask, how was he going to get juice boxes or juice bags that she bought to school along with his backpack.


He carefully picked out eight, but I could tell he really wanted a couple extra to bring into her house. She was rushing him, telling him to put the rest in the box. He did select two more for a total of ten for his backpack, and I told him that he should take a couple for him, if he wanted. Of course, he did...I could see it.

I am so very proud of my little guy. He is really growing up to be a very caring, loving individual. I am so happy that he loves his mom so much. As I have said many times, that is one of most important roles as his dad, to always teach him about the importance of loving his mommy!

As we departed each other for the day, I told him that I was proud of him and that he did a great job! Which he did. Love you bud!

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