Praise be to God we had an entire day without rain! So to take full advantage of the sunshine Seth and I got in the pool (it was the only place we could be if outside, because without the rain cooling things down it was H O T!). As we floated around on our mat Seth said, “Talk to me, Mom.” I giggled because this is something he’s been saying a lot lately and just this morning in quiet time with God I was praying for the gift of having the line of communication remain open with the boys as they began to get older. “What do you want to talk about?” I asked. He shrugged his shoulders in response.
“Are you nervous to go into 4th grade?” I prompted.
He made a smirk, “No, why would I be nervous?”
Okay…so I try again. “What are you most excited about when you get back in school?” (Are you noticing a theme with me? I’m all about getting them back in school! 😉 )
Again I get a shoulder shrug and then he says, “I don’t think I’m excited to go back in school, Mom. I mean, school is school.”
*sigh* Okay…so I try again. “Well, then, what do you want to talk about?”
Another shoulder shrug (this communication thing is working out real well) and he says, “I don’t know.”
We both float about for a minute or two pondering what we can talk about and then he asks, “Hey, you know how I know that the shark in Jaws is really fake?” (We had gone to Universal Studios and ridden the ‘JAWS’ ride.) I went with the flow and said, “No, tell me.” And thus began our conversation on what was real and not real in movies and how they make things look real, etc.
Yes, it wasn’t the most profound conversation we could have had. Seth is only 9. 😉 But I talked to him and that’s all that mattered. My prayer is that when he is 14, 15, 16, 17, etc etc etc that he will still say, “Mom, talk to me.” For then my ears will be wide open to what is not being said amongst the chit chat – for that is what will be most important.
Blessings
Shannon