To this:
It's very sad. I don't know exactly when it happened to Ethan. It was probably around the same time he made the sign for his door that read, "No Slimy Girls Allowed."
As I look back at the last six years with my boy, I can't help but see the slow progression. Boys have stages of affection. They are as follows:
Stage 1: Defenseless- At birth, you can smother your child with affection and there's not a darn thing they can do about it. They have to sit there and take it. This is a wonderful stage. They don't even have control enough of their hands to bat you away.
Stage 2: Cautiously Allowed- Toddlers love the word "no" but they still need and want Mommy's love and affection. It has to be the right time though. Luckily this still happens frequently.
Stage 3: The Plague- I think boys have a "love and affection meter" that once it fills up, they just can't take anymore. Mommy's love and affection is needed for medical emergencies only (i.e. scrapes and bruises and in times of extreme fatigue).
Now, as an over-affectionate mother, this last stage will not suffice. You see, I have a "love and affection meter" as well and mine is a bit of a gas guzzler. It only gets about 5 kisses to the gallon so I find myself in need of filling it back up daily. Sometimes this is in the form of bribery ("You want a cookie? Give mommy a kiss first.") Sometimes this is in the form of a surprise attack ("Gotchya!") But my favorite time is when my little boy reverts back to stage 1. When does he do this? When he is sleeping.
Aren't they precious when they are sleeping? Every night I look forward to checking on him before I go to bed. I kiss his sweaty cheeks and take the same deep breath I did when he was little. Of course, the smell of pink lotion has been replaced with dirty, sweaty wind smell. It's a smell only a mother can love.
