May 27, 2011

Riding in Cars with Boys

Today Henry is a kid.  Not an innocent preschooler.  Not a precocious toddler.  Certainly not the chubby cheeked infant I met four years ago.  Now he is a kid.  How do I know?  It has nothing to do with the calendar but a lot to do with this photo.
While driving home from the grocery store I heard a noise coming from the backseat.  I've never heard this sound coming from that region but I was able to identify it immediately.  There was no mistake--a rear passenger window was being lowered.  I surreptitiously glanced in the rearview mirror.  Henry's expression changed from one of bafflement to incredulity to pure, unadulterated joy as he came to understand what he had just done.  I waited for him to confirm this new skill.  He did so but without uttering a word to me.  Typically, Henry narrates every observation he makes from the backseat.  Not this time.  No, this was power at his finger tips.  Why risk losing it by informing Mom?

I continued to listen to the motor moving the window up and down, up and down.  My fingers were itching to press the window lock on the driver's door handle but I didn't.  There will be plenty of time for that in the future.  Instead I enjoyed the smile on Henry's face and the breathless excitement emanating from the backseat.

Liam was curiously silent as well.  It wasn't long before I heard Henry tell his little brother, "Just push the button, see?  No, that button.  Reach your fingers like this."  But Liam's little arms couldn't stretch quite far enough so Henry enjoyed a few more moments being the strongest, most powerful kid in the backseat. 

3 comments:

  1. I love childhood! This is just one example of it. Pure Joy!

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  2. Love this post. You captured this age so perfectly, and how great that you were able to just enjoy the moment before it passed.

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