June 12, 2012

I stood in the middle of the living room, dusting forgotten, watching Emmett zip through the house like Speedy Gonzalez on Red Bull. Up the stairs, down the stairs, into the kitchen, back upstairs. It was a little strange to see my normally laid-back son acting like, well, Alice. When he didn’t immediately reappear, I went back to my cleaning.

A few minutes later, he came clomping down the steps. He had his sleeping bag under one arm, his pillow under the other, and his backpack on his back. He set everything by the front door, and looked up at me, smiling proudly. “I’m all set for my sleepover with Jasper and Edward tonight, Mommy.”

“You know that you’ve got about seven more hours until it’s time to go over there, right?”

“Yeah, I know. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t forget anything.”

I continued carefully, not wanting to upset him. “Sweetie, I don’t think Edward’s going to be part of the sleepover. He’ll be in his room, and you and Jasper will be in his room.”

“Nuh-uh. Edward said all three of us were gonna camp out in the backyard. He showed me the tent and everything.”

“He did, did he?” I smiled at his excitement.

“Yeah! And he got a fire bowl for cooking hotdogs and s’mores! He even said we didn’t have to brush our teeth tonight!” He looked at me with wide eyes. “I wasn’t ‘sposed to tell you that. Are you gonna get mad at Edward?”

“No, sweetie, I’m not mad at Edward. As long as you promise to brush your teeth really good in the morning – and that means letting Edward help – I think skipping one night will be alright.”

The next thing I knew, he was wrapped around my legs. “You’re the bestest mom ever!”

I knelt down to hug him. “And you’re the bestest son ever.”