The Boy, as we refer to my One and Only Son, thinks his rent money doesn’t go far enough. Given that he has lived at home since leaving college four years ago, I have to agree with him. It doesn’t.
For some reason, he believes, in that grinning way that the well-loved son has, that his meals are included. They are, of course. But does he have to expect them the way he does?
“Mom,” he says the other day, “You forgot to fix my bed.”
Then he laughs and scratches my head, a common gesture in our home of thick-haired (and possibly thick-headed) folk.
It’s hard to keep your hands off your children, impossible for me to pass by him without pulling his hair gently, scratching him behind the ears, or putting a hand on his shoulder. He will lean his back against my hand with an imperious command: “Scratch.” I do, of course. Not only because he’s my boy and I love him, but because I appreciate the gleam in his eye when he says it: a request couched in a demand and wrapped in the knowledge that I would do it anyway, whether he asked for it or not.
I did it to myself.
34 comments:
Yes you did, and you love it.
Oh, but it is a wonderful thing to love our children.
I could have written this post myself. I sure can relate!
Oh yes. Absolutely.
Yes, as a fellow mother of a charming son, I wholeheartedly agree.
We screw ourselves...
uh oh. he could be a 'lifer'. :)
That's what we always call our son too. The Boy when we refer to him, just Boy when we greet him, as in Hey Boy. He heard me call my grandson Boy a while back. Hey, he said, that's my name.
"For some reason, he believes, in that grinning way that the well-loved son has, that his meals are included. They are, of course. But does he have to expect them the way he does?"
Perfectly said :) Why can't the little blighters at least pretend to be thankful!
Dontcha love their naieve view of home. Saving their nuanced personalities for the world.
This little story tells so much about your relationship. I'm envious! Yep, I'm sure you did it to yourself and I'm sure you'd do it again.
This little story tells so much about your relationship. I'm envious! Yep, I'm sure you did it to yourself and I'm sure you'd do it again.
Words of love!
Oh NO! We joke that that'll be our 13 yr old. He already sits on the couch and waits for mom to make his coffee every morning. Yes, you read right .. 13 & coffee! Lord help me! ;)
back scratching - probably influenced by the cat.
but they're such great blogging material, no matter how old they are, sugar! *thinking about the coconut krewe* xoxoxox
Yes, I'm mom to two sons here. They are charmers aren't they. :-)
You still have a chance to make life for his future wife a lot more pleasant. ;-)
No doubt about it, you're besotted with the boy...but isn't that really the way it's supposed to be?
Those Boys and their demands - who are we to resist?
Isn't that just the way of it? The things we either like the most or hate the most (or BOTH) are the things we do to ourselves?
I think they call it human nature. :)
:)
Oh, those boys. Have their mamas wrapped right round their fingers, don't they? ;)
You're letting him get too comfortable; but then I guess it will be handy to have him there to look after you when dementia sets in.
You mean they come back after college?
Oh, crap.
Oh, those boys! You just gotta love 'em! Even when they come back home with their wife and kids! I just bought both of your books! I'm SO excited! Can't wait to read them. I'll let you know what I think!
Hey Pearl,
Your son pays rent? You are lucky. I have a 24 year old son, who though a skilled civil engineer and I'm not so sure about the "civil" part, has had little work in the last five years and hasn't contributed in ages.
He asks me when I'm moving out. And yes, no matter what, we love our little 'angels'! :)
Take care, Pearl. I know you're blushing having me grace you with one of my much loved comments. Yes Pearl, I'm delusional!
Your starstruck fan,
Shy and humble Gary :)
Gotta love them...........and by them I mean our darling children
I can so relate!
Love this story…but of course, I have a couple of sons myself!
My younger son is also known as "The Boy" but we're not a touchy-feely hugging family, so there's no back scratching going on. Plus he doesn't live with me, so he has to cook his own meals now, he's turned into quite an adventurous cook, sometimes using ingredients I've never heard of.
ER...... do you think he could have nits, Pearl ??
Ah, to have the affection thrive for so long--that's a gift.
As mothers we love all our children, but there is something about a boy. At 21, my son is kind of a loving tyrant too.
They are what we make 'em! We solved this problem in an odd way (to most people's way of thinking). We have five of 'em. All adults now, but when the last one (who happened to be the most independent and self sufficient) of the group was in her senior year of high school and the others were working. We moved out...
Yep, we moved out and left them there. They were told they could live there for free for that year and had better save some money, because when that year was up we were selling the place. It worked out great. I'm not saying anybody saved a red cent, but they all moved out. We asked the youngest to move in with us. Partially because we wanted her to go to school, but mostly because she was the only one we would want to live with. She actually cleans up after her self and loves working. She's still here!
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