Tuesday, June 29, 2010

One loooooong week

So I'm sitting at my computer, bored out of my mind. It's a quarter till midnight, and I'm wide awake. I'm missing my oldest little boy who is spending his first week away from home. And this week feels like a month.

About three years ago, my husband's parents asked if they could keep my oldest little boy for a week in the summer... It would be his chance to get away from his little brother and their chance to spend some one-on-one time with him. I said he was too little. He wasn't ready. Each year, they asked, each year I said he wasn't ready. Truth be told... I wasn't ready. This year, I decided I needed to quit being selfish and let him go see his grandparents all by himself for a week during the summer.

My in-laws, otherwise known as Nani and Papa, live in the mountains of North Georgia, AKA: little boy heaven. There are hiking trails, lots of bugs and dirt and the occasional bear. Of course my child was over-the-moon when he got the OK to go. It was all he talked about for weeks. The more excited he became, the more anxious I grew. Sunday we drove him to Chattanooga to meet his Nani and Papa to begin his week of little boy bliss. I cried on the way back home.

He's been gone almost three days, and we're both doing OK. He's baked cookies with his Nani, gone to baseball games with his Papa, played with his cousin, gone swimming and enjoyed the great outdoors. He's having a blast. I've enjoyed spending more time with my other two kids and giving them extra attention. And I've also enjoyed the peace from not having my two oldest constantly at each others' throats. This little break has been good for everyone, I suppose.

While I miss my little boy terribly, I've learned a valuable lesson... It's OK to let him grow up a little bit. I'm still the same over-protective, slightly obsessive mother that I always have been, but I'm learning to loosen my grip on them so that my boys can experience life just a little more freely. It's the hardest but very rewarding part of being a mom -- letting go a bit so that they can become individuals.

But I still cannot wait to see him Friday!! :-)