Perceptive

This afternoon, I took a little drive with Sydney to WinCo (grocery store). There's no getting around how much that dog loves me...though, when this picture was taken, my foot was falling asleep underneath her 85 pounds of weight. Yesterday, we both went for a much needed speed walk/occasional jog - and it dawned on me that that dog is now more out of shape than me. By the end, when I went for my block at a time pick-up of pace, Sydney would let the retractable leash go to full extension behind me....to the point where I was dragging her. Oh honey, I know how you feel!

Alright, back to the original point of this post. On my little excursion, my mood went south in a hurry. The shopping had nothing to do with it, it was the time alone where all of a sudden my "funk" fully caught up with me. The stuff going through my head today is nothing original - it's the same old, same old - ways that the Enemy has found success in the past - so why not hit me with it again? On the way home, I succumbed to a full on pity party and even shed a tear or two. I wasn't really in the mood to have to explain it all when I got home, so I kept myself pretty composed.

Within five seconds of walking in the house (no tear stains or anything on my face), Brayden asked me, "Mommy are you alright, do you have a headache or something?". And, with that little statement, it further verified to me that I have no right EVER having a pity party. I am a blessed woman. And, that son of mine, that not only loves me so much, but cares enough to acknowledge how I might be feeling as soon as I walked in the door....wow! (For the record, I didn't whine, complain, or nag at him, I don't think I said anything, except "Hey Buddy" - and in response to his question - I told him I was just sad for no real good reason - ad he gave me a big hug). The other day, when he thought I was going to be subbing the next day, he asked if I'd wake him up early - because, "15 minutes just isn't enough time to spend with you first thing in the morning when you go off to work". The morning after our Superbowl Party, totally out of the blue, he said, "Mom, you are so good in how you can put together a party like yesterday".

If it sounds like I'm bragging on him, well maybe I am - because I don't ever want to take comments like these for granted. I never want to fail to recognize how extraordinary it is that I have a sixth grader - nearly a 12 year old - that still demonstrates in so many ways how much he appreciates his mom - and wants her company around.

Someday, this perceptiveness of Brayden's is going to make his future wife feel incredibly blessed, just as I do right now.