"You're wearing that?!"

Ever since he was born almost eight years ago, Ryan's been my sweet little boy. Yes, he can be onery and a bit exciteable, but he's always been one to come and cuddle in my lap. He still lets me read to him every night, give him a kiss and hug good-bye at school (although, now that he's in second grade, that's been moved to a new location...behind the building so no one will see), and he'll still grab my hand occasionally while we're walking somewhere. In his eyes, I could almost do no wrong. Well...things have changed. We've reached a dreaded stage of our relationship...the stage where I can embarrass him.

Tonight, we wanted to do some exploring on our bikes. It was late...almost dusk...and a little chilly. There are many little hungry friends flying around at night, desperately searching for any portion of our bare skin. So, I took off my skirt and put on some sweats and a long-sleeve shirt. I came out of the bedroom, ready to go on our bike ride. When, to my suprise, I hear, "You're wearing that?!" Nope, it didn't come from my husband (I don't think he's ever said that to me). It came from my sweet little seven-year-old boy. I was a bit surprised and asked what was wrong with what I had on. He informed me that it would be embarassing to him because, Mom, don't you know that only boys wear sweats. I should really go put on a pair of jeans. He'd wait for me.

A little bit of sadness ran through my heart...I'd could no longer do no wrong in his eyes. I'm just another adult putting a crimp (or is it cramp?) in his style. So, with a long face, I turned and took the first step into the next stage in our relationship. I went to my room and changed my clothes.

After all, I'd much rather embarrass him when lots of his friends are around in broad daylight.
(Smile)