Please don't go

He's going to move out. Yep. That's what he said.

I don't remember now what brought it on, but he made the announcement on Friday night. We were all in the living room, enjoying a quiet night at home when someone's feelings were hurt or something. It's all a blur, really. I've always heard that the mind can kind of protect you by shutting out memories that cause incredible pain. Maybe this is an example of that, I don't know.

I remember it being very cold. And raining. In fact, it rained all day last Friday. The wind was blowing so hard outside that the neighbors' Halloween pumpkin blew across their yard, into the street and landed in the storm water drain over on our side of the road. Kind of an eerie sight in the dark, cold rain. Pumpkin lying on its side, facing the cars as they passed; strange, smiling face with dark, dark eyes. But, I digress.

I'm sitting in my chair, trying to keep warm. Hubby is beside me. Words were said. Someone voices their displeasure at said words. Tears shed.
Then:

"I'm leaving. I'm going to leave this house!"

"Where are you going to go?"

"I don't know, I'm just leaving. I'm taking my stuff and going".

Tears flowing openly now.

"You can't leave; it's raining and very cold outside."

"Yes I can, I'll get my warm clothes and pillow and blankets and stuff and I'm going somewhere else!"

Ok, so the 'warm clothes' comment almost did me in.

"Well, we'll see you later. Come give me a kiss and a hug".

"NO! I'm going and you can't have a kiss."

"Ok, but you can't take your toys. The toys stay here."

Much wailing and gnashing of teeth. And falling down on the floor and whining.

"Yes I can! I wanna take my toys! My toys! I want my toys too!!!"

"Nope, but if you stay you can have your toys"

Sniff. Sniff. Tears dry up a little. Watery blue eyes with eyelashes all stuck together, runny nose, quivering chin....... he's thinking about it. Weighing his options......

Toys win.

He stays.

Mommy and Daddy are so glad.

Barbie suitcase?

So, I go to pick up little man at pre-k yesterday afternoon, and find waiting beneath his cubby, a Barbie suitcase. With a note. From his teacher.

This month at school, his class theme "All About Me". The project for each kid in the class will be to take the suitcase home, and bring it back in two days with it chock full of anything that defines them: things they like, things that make them special/unique. Then, they'll share everything with the class. Little man was completely over the moon about the suitcase and the project, in fact, when we got home, he pulled it out of the car and said, "I'm gonna start now!"

Well, I've got ideas in my head of the things that represent/define him to me; but when we walked in the house, he went straight to one of the baskets under the coffee table (that I got at Target, and really think are the cutest......anyway.) and started pulling out toy after toy after toy, to fill his suitcase.

I think he did pretty well, actually, with the toys that he pulled out......
Spiderman mask.....if you know him, you understand.
Bumble bee.......from happy meal at Het*.
Train/locomotive......his sweet Aunt ToniMac gave him.
Spongebob......well, because he's the man.
White Power Ranger......newest hero and idol, thanks to Nanny.
Black Spiderman......old standby.
Bobble-head Star Wars creature from yet another happy meal.......no comment
Red Power Ranger......again, thanks to Nanny.
Optimus Prime........because he's Cool.
Microphone..........certainly not for volume control, that's fer shure.
Bob the Tomato........another old standby.
Can o' Flarp.........because fart sounds are just the funniest thing to a 4 year old.
Super Cool Sheriff Deputy Badge.......because he rules the roost around here -truly.

So, as I'm sitting here going through this Barbie suitcase filled with these treasures, I can see in my head, the picture of him going through the basket and the built-in cabinet in the living room. Pieces and parts of toys - all sorts and sizes - probably hundreds of things that he's collected over the past 3-4 years. Most of the stuff he doesn't even play with anymore, but he took the time yesterday to sit and sort through it to find things that he deems as special enough to take to school to show his friends.

And in my head, I can remember times with each of these toys. And a little man. With an imagination and energy to bring each and every one of them to life; for himself and the luckiest mommy and daddy in the world.

*het is a shortened version of our name for McDonalds = HetMcDonalds. It's been HetMcDonalds since little man started talking.....we think maybe it's because someone once said something like "At McDonald's", but he heard "hetmcdonalds". So, it stuck. It's Het.