I've posted before about the weekly lunch dates I take with my children on Friday afternoons. They cycle through, one at a time, so they each get to go to lunch with me once a month; my father takes one of the others at the same time, so one of them has a lunch date with Mom and one of them has a lunch date with Grampa. The remaining two of them - randomly paired together depending on "who's left" in a given week - have a "lunch date" together at home. It is grand fun, and gives me a chance to interact on a totally different level with my kids... not necessarily wearing the "Mom hat" or the "teacher hat," but just the "friend hat." I don't often get to wear just the "friend hat," and I like it! But I digress from my point...
Two small but notable things from some recent lunch dates:
First, when with my son: We're sitting down across from each other at one of his favorite restaurants of choice, and suddenly he says, "So, Mom, what's been happening with you lately?" When I ask for clarification about what he means, he says, "Well, usually we talk about me, and how I'm doing and what I'm feeling, when we have these dates. I was just wondering how you're feeling about life, spiritually and otherwise, so I figured we could talk about you some this time."
I felt special and honored, and I felt happy and proud that my son is growing up to be a man who cares about others' thoughts and feelings. May that dimension that cares as much for the other person as for ourself grow in each of us more and more!
Secondly, when with my middle daughter: She chose the lunch special at the local Japanese Steak House for our lunch together, and though she loves to watch the man cooking the meal, she chose for us to sit in a booth and have the "kitchen hibachi" where they cook for you 'over there' and bring your food to you 'over here.' Why did she do this? Because the women we would be seated with were going to be distracting to her, and she didn't want to be paying attention to their conversation or having them pay attention to ours.
Again I felt special and honored. And I didn't eat all my fried rice before my meat was done, either!
Oh, how fleeting are these days. I'm so thankful for these sorts of special moments with my children!
1 comment:
What a lovely tradition, Laurie! And it speaks so much to your wonderful mothering that your children have turned the tables and are actually asking about YOU and wanting to focus on their conversations with you. Oh, it is so wonderful -- and such a treasure for which to be thankful. Thank you for sharing these little gems in your week.
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