I was reminded a couple of days ago, that this Friday will be Bryce’s last game at his high school football field as playoffs will take a turn at a different venue if they should advance. I didn’t really need the reminder. I mean, I have been on the college visits, so this isn’t news to me. But, when my spouse said those words, there was a small clutch in my chest where my breath seemed to stop.
When Bryce was born, they forgot to turn off my epidural. It was delightful. It was late, I was hungry and tired, so having my lower extremities numb was kind of a bonus. I remember the nurse coming in all full of giddiness asking if I wanted Bryce in the room with me. First, I was disappointed that she wasn’t bringing the food that I had ordered and when I said, “No thanks. I will have him for the next eighteen years, so we have plenty of time to bond”, she looked at me as though I had no head. Eighteen years went by quick.
Yesterday, I asked him if he wanted to see a local high school production of “Fiddler on the Roof”. A friend’s daughter was performing and Bryce, since he was in a play last year, has been interested in seeing various productions. So, when he said, “what the hell” which translated is “Mom, I would love to hang out with you”, I jumped on it. We usually don’t get too many opportunities to have an outing with just the two of us and since I picked food over him when he was born, I thought this would be an excellent amends. While we were at dinner, our conversation flowed from college to life to what song he was using to try out for the upcoming spring musical. At some point his response to something I asked was sarcastic which could have come from either myself or Brian, and I asked where he thought he inherited that quality. His response was simply, “Is it a parenting flaw or just the kid?”. He is hilarious. He is the best of both of us blended with my dad’s sensitivity and tremendous capacity for patience.
When we were getting ready to leave the restaurant, I told him I think it would be a great idea to give him a survey, similar to a hotel, asking him of his experience being raised by us. Questions like, “Where you happy with your accommodations? Would you recommend this set of parents to other people? Is there anything that could have been done differently to make your stay at our home for 18 years more enjoyable?”.
Despite picking food over Bryce in the beginning, I feel like we did a pretty great job. Both of our boys have escaped with minimal requirements for therapy. They both seem to be satisfied with the parents that they received and if we were being rated by AAA, I would say we would get a strong four out of five stars. And because I am such a cool mom, I didn’t even act like I was with him last night when he saw some of his friends. That might earn us five stars, but I will wait until the survey is returned to celebrate.
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