Me and F had a conversation the other day, I’m not quite sure how it started but we were talking about families…
‘When you grow up you might want to get married like mummy and daddy.’
‘What? What’s married?’
‘It’s when you find a best friend and you want to live with them and be with them forever.’
*Long pause as TINY MIND IS BLOWN, followed by scared look*
He gazes up at the ceiling and shakes his head from side to side as he does when he’s trying to find the right words in the right order.
‘But, but, but, but… and not be with you Mummy?’
Christ.
How do you explain the future to a 3 year old who can’t see past the end of his elbow and who has only just fathomed the concept of tomorrow.
I open my arms and he links his hands behind my neck and swings his legs around my waist. He’s heavy and I wonder if this will be one of the last times I scoop him up like this. Or if this will be one of the last times he will want to be scooped.
Suddenly I’m almost nostalgic for the times I have spent 2 hours watching him zip around the park only for him to insist I carry him home. The days of struggling home with a baby in a buggy, small child slipping down my hip and scooter over my shoulder, I know will soon be over.
I look deep into his confused little eyes and tell him straight.
‘You are my best friend and I will never leave you.’
And it’s true.
Because I know he will be the one that leaves me.
**************
P.S. My new book The Catastrophic Friendship Fails of Lottie Brooks is out on the 3rd March 2022! It's aimed at 9-12 year olds and you can buy it here :) As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
This gave me goosepimples and brought a tear to my eye. Time is going to fast and it won’t even be long before they do leave us. Sob x
Thanks Jess :) I hadn’t even thought about it that much until this conversation, now I’m all like :-// whoa!
Talk about pulling at the heartstrings hey? We were talking about getting married with our little man and he was quite adamant he would marry me or nobody. It such a lovely innocent time, isn’t it? And so damn fleeting to. x
Ah bless BB!! I think all little boys want to marry their mummies don’t they :)) Sure it won’t be long until they won’t be seen dead with us! x
Heartstrings were tugged this morning by reading that! What a sweet boy :) xo
Ahh thanks Louise glad you liked it xxx
awwww x heart…melts…big pool on floor… xxx
I don’t know whats happened to me, gone all soppy, maybe it’s the lack of gin!! x
Waaaah! Stop it! I’m a wreck over here. No more posts that make me sob please!
SORRY!! I promise to be back to my usual moany posts soon enough lol x
Oh yes, I remember the time the boys wanted to marry me. Now they just want to live next door and have me look after them. Children are very wise!
ha ha clever!!
Jeez woman! I really should have paid attention to the warning you gave about needing tissues. Xx
lol soz! x
Aww. Love those sweet moments :) It is slipping by so fast, isn’t it? Sometimes I just want to say slow down a bit, will you? And of course there are also days when you just want to get “on with it”. Hahaha. These sweet moments though are absolutely priceless! xx
I know – all F talks about is getting bigger!
I have two boys, too. I spy on their games because I already miss them, and they’re far from the time they go – no doubt without a backwards glance, if we’ve done our job right.
So very true! x
Ooooh, we have this at the moment too. Ed is terrified at the thought that he will one day be forcibly evicted from the family nest. “But I want to marry YOU, mummy! Take off the ring daddy gave you – marry me!”. It is a huge thing for them to get their heads round isn’t it? Little darlings. xx
Ha ha! I think we are just at that age where he is starting to question the point of life and his place in it – scary stuff! x
Add me to the body count please, I’m all choked up over this post! My little man is turning one next week and I’m completely freaked out by the thought of him growing up up and away from us. *sniff* (well written post as usual though, well done!)
Lol *tosses body in mass grave and says a few nice words* SORRY! Thanks for the lovely comment though xxx
Please don’t write stuff like this, I am having a very hormonal day and you have just made me cry!! :’)
Ooops i have made too many people cry today i must go hide and have a word with myself ;)
Ooh this made me well up! Stop it! I think about this weekly and then have to shut out the thought. They make me mad but I’m not sure I will be able to bear them leaving home….probably sooner than I think for my lot :( Such a beautiful post x
Ahh thanks Suzanne – BUT think of all the good sides too, less mess, less washing…. oh no it’s no working is its. We’ll be old and alone :((
What a lovely blog post and so true…my daughter is starting school in 9 short months and I’ve become so reflective recently about her childhood slipping away, she grows more and more every week. The thought of her starting school makes me want to cry…but we have to let our children grow up. My Mum always says she enjoyed every stage of our childhood, including the teenage years, there’s so many things to look forward to, enjoying a whole lifetime together, not just the childhood years :)
My son starts school too this year – at just turned 4! You are right though, i will miss these days but i also cant wait for all the fun stuff we will be able to do as they get older :)
Oh this made me sad!!!! Erin was in her first dance class without me today. And she didn’t even care!!!! :( xxx
lol my son never cares if i am there or not usually – sign of a happy, confident child though :)
So very sweet! Little boys are just the best when it comes to cuddles and love like that. It still warms my heart when my 15 yr old seeks me out to give me a hug goodnight. :)
they still cuddle at 15?! YAY!
Having wiped away a little tear I’m going to take the positives from this – at least we can appreciate these days no matter how emotional/boring/draining/demanding they can be and we never have to look back and say – I regret not loving that time of all our lives a bit more – you’ll have this blog post to remind you!
Stupid me thought it would be a good idea to read this post in the inter site mini-bus filled with other staff. Good job I was on the front row so they couldn’t see the tears that came to my eyes!
Beautiful post and so very true. I think Little O is going to get some super big cuddles when I pick him up from nursery tonight!
Awwww that’s such a lovely thing to say. Time really needs do stand still doesn’t it?
Oh jee whizz… I am sat here crying! Its very true one day they will leave and I am dreading that day.. Lovely post Katie.. xx
Ah yes, I’ve been at this very place with M. She keeps telling me she never wants to leave home or me or her dad. I guess at their tender age it is so hard to fathom, whilst for us adults / parents, we realise that all too soon that day will come. All the more reason to savour every moment – and on that note, I’m shutting my laptop and going to give my girl a massive big cuddle x
Awww. We’re yet to have these conversations with our little two xxxx
This really made me feel sad and nostalgic. It is true that they only need us completely for just such a short time. A beautiful post. x
Sob. Oh god, don’t do this to me! I’m already counting the days till my little man starts school in September – feels like I’m handing him over to the big wide world and The System. But I tell myself we’ll stay close. *Praying for a mummy’s boy* Great post – fab that you’ve captured the moment forever now.
So lovely, what a sweet sweet boy. I’m enjoying being asked (ordered) to ‘ho hand’ (hold hands), ‘cuggle’ (cuddle) and ‘kish’ by a 22month old, its such a special time when they still think you’re the business! X
oh ruddy hell i am almsot in tears now. Burton and Jenson were asking me something similar the other day about always living with me and daddy and i said that one day they will live on their own etc… they could not understand that at all!!! i adore the photo too and this is just a post that i can totally relate too lovely x x (hugs) x x
Such a beautiful post. I am so touched by how simple life can be when you peer at it from a child’s eyes! Sometimes we do forget what truly matters don’t we? I think you’ve got a lot more great years ahead of you to raise your boys, look forward to sharing those on this blog.
I saw comments on this yesterday and was feeling a little emotional so put it off until today….well it still got me!! So so beautiful, cut me deep!!!
Nooooo, say it’s not true!! Our boys will never leave us, never! I don’t want to think about it (although I do admit to thinking about the fantastic holidays that my husband and I will take once they’re grown up).
Oh so very true – and brought a lump to my throat. They’re so little right now I just can’t fathom the idea of them being big and grown up, but I’m going to enjoy watching it happen!
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Oh Katie, this is just too lovely!
Noo has told me not to worry as she’ll just live next door to me (FOREVER!) ;-) xxx
Ha, its so sweet isn’t it!! I’m sure they will change their tunes soon though and want to be MILES away ;)
Eee will any girl be good enough for our boys?
ha ha NO!!
Gorgeous photo. Gorgeous words. Sometimes I want to cry with how quickly time is flying with my girls – how is my big one 7 already?!? Being a mummy is such a weird and wonderful thing.
Noah is the same. At nearly 6 he is besotted with his mummy and bestows me with kisses and cuddles frequently, sometimes even preferring to cuddle me in the playground rather than playing with his friends. I am savouring every moment and dreading the grunting teenager moments!
Louise hello!! How did you find me? :)
That’s good at 6, I was imagining as school starts the cuddles would really start to dwindle x
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What a great post, a good old tear jerker too. That last line was the end of me! (now for that bottle of gin…)
B*gger… Should have read this first and THEN the Instagram Baby poem…
Crying now.
Too true.
Bloody hell! Bulb xxxxx
Oh my word! I was OK until the last line!! :( Beautiful xxx
Aww this brought a tear to my eye as i just dropped my F off at his first day of school then blubbed like a baby. It’s so hard to let go and they are always the ones to leave. x
my boys are now 24 and 26 and they have both left home and are living in another country. I remember my youngest saying he would never leave me and of course he had. The day I had to leave him in the UK and drive back to France was terrible. What kids dont realise when their mum drives away crying as she leaves them at uni is that she has been crying for weeks before and will cry for weeks after. When their last bits of washing appear in the basket. Whenever she passes your empty room. Every meal where you are not there. How she loves to speak to you and read your messages. It is so hard being a mum and it is a job for life. (sentimental gin based tears now flowing)
Awwww that last line. So true. So sweet. I want to cry now.
You should totally start laying the groundwork now for a future granny annex so he doesn’t have to live without you
Beautiful. It made my cold heart melt. I am going to (try to) keep my boys forever. Failing that I’ll settle for Mother-in-law from hell
As my son lays on me and watches Ben & Holly, I read this post and it gave me a lump in my throat!
Damn it lady… What did you go and write that for? Cruel.
My eldest little man is 4. He’s not allowed to leave. Never…
The other is less than 2. He can go.
;)
Waaaa!
Oh my, I’m a big softy! This made me teary too and I’m a big 6 foot 40 year old man with two little ones 2 and 5. Other posts are hilarious and so many home truths hit upon