Mommy Time

On Thursday morning, I had some time alone with Brian.

After dropping Beth and Amy off at school, I brought Erin over to Aunt Michelle's house for a much-anticipated trip to the zoo with her cousin, Alyssa. I then drove home with three empty car seats, and a snoozing Brian in the back seat. I had been eagerly awaiting this quiet time with my little boy, and knew just how I wanted to spend this hour alone with him.

I wanted to take a walk. A real walk. The kind of walk I used to take when Beth was a baby...the kind of walk that can truly be considered "exercise". Nowadays, when I push the stroller through the neighborhood, I am simultaneously trying to corral my three bike-riders over to the side of the road. We move along at a snail's pace, and I spend more time picking up tipped-over bikes and kissing skinned knees than actually walking.

But this day would be different. By the time I returned home, I had about one hour to spend with Brian, before heading back to pick up Amy from preschool. I quickly fed him some cereal, and scooped him into his stroller for our trek around the neighborhood. Brian began to fuss, but I was sure that he would soon settle down and enjoy the stroll. We headed off.

His fussing got louder and louder. Soon, his weak cries turned to wails. Then the wails turned to hysterical screams. I began to walk faster, hoping to lull Brian to sleep. But the faster I walked, the louder he cried. Finally, I realized that the walk was not going to happen as planned, and I turned towards home.

I felt frustrated and a bit angry. I had been waiting for this "time alone with Brian" for a week, and it was not at all the quiet, serene experience that I had hoped for. I trudged home with my screaming little boy, and parked the stroller in the garage. I sat down on the steps and took a good look at the baby.

Brian has been fighting a head cold for about a week now, and it's been complicated by a bout with conjunctivitis in both eyes. Combine that with the three immunizations that he received on Wednesday, and it's pretty clear why he was so unhappy. He sat in his stroller with his nose and eyes running, and his cheeks bright red with the low-grade fever he's been fighting since receiving those shots. He looked up at me with those sad eyes, and I melted.

I had been so focused on "my time alone with Brian", and I somehow forgot that it was also "Brian's time alone with me". We still had a half hour left before we needed to pick up Amy, so we headed inside. I drew up a warm bath in Brian's tub, and plopped him in. He smiled and splashed, while I cleaned his little face. Then I plucked him from the tub, dried him off, and rubbed his sore legs with lotion before dressing him in a fresh outfit. We snuggled in his rocking chair for a few minutes, while he played with a new board book.

In the end, my time alone with Brian was perfect. I enjoyed precious time with my little guy, and we did something that made both of us happy.

I couldn't have planned it any better.