Today, Noah and I got on the T and, at his request, went to see the dinosaurs at the Museum of Science. He nestled in my lap on the way home and looked me with big eyes and said “Thanks, Mama.” I asked him why the thank you, and he said “My like this day.”
It’s been a summer like that – train rides and slow mornings at home and walk to the park and music classes. I’ve liked these days. I like the way we set out on an adventure in the mornings and let the day take us where it will. I like the mornings when we follow the mail truck for blocks, just to find out where it goes. This morning was no different, except that there was an air of the last time to it. This summer, Noah and I have been a pair – my faithful sidekick. I can’t walk down a street without expecting to have his little hand in mine, or grab a snack with out anticipating a small “my share that?”
But tomorrow morning, we’ll pack up our school bags and lunch boxes and I’ll walk Noah into his classroom. I don’t know if he’ll remember his friends or the peg where he hangs his jacket, but I know the routine will come back to him. Like last year, I’ll be unable to attract his attention long enough for a good bye hug after a week or two. The fall days will be good days too – we’ll walk home together and crunch the leaves and talk about our days and I’ll boost him up to press the button when we cross the street.
Noah and I both know bigger changes are coming, although he understands it differently than I do. Next summer, there will be three of us watching for the recycling truck on summer Friday mornings and reading about Clifford the Big Red Dog on the porch swing while we wait for Daddy to come home. And I think we will all like those days too.
