Today, I got the rare privilege of being a Mom during a school day instead of being the teacher. I went with my middle son, Sawyer, on a field trip. It was a lovely change of pace and a fantastic experience to get to spend the day with just one child at a time.
Sawyer is not typically fearful.
Unless, the task involves heights.
Recklessly climbing trees? No problem.
Touching sharks? No big deal.
Watching a Tornado movie in IMAX 3D that made some children shiver? That's nothing!
But if you ask him to do something that requires some degree of height, then true fear becomes evident. Several times today we encountered some situations that required walking a little "higher" than normal. Each time the situation arose, I would feel Sawyer get closer by my side. And he would slide his little hand into mine.
Sawyer is my least affectionate child. It's not a flaw, it's just that he sometimes shows his love in other ways. I am not super affectionate either, so I understand. But sometimes, getting a little dose of physical touch from Sawyer, even out of fear, is nice.
He never told me he was uneasy about the heights. He didn't have to. I knew.
Today, his little hand slid into mine and he snuggled up close to me on at least four occasions. He did it when we rode the escalator up three stories. He held my hand again when we went to the top level of the river boat and looked out over the edge. Again when we looked over the railing of the lower floors of the building and when looked down from the upper level to the lower level at lunch.
Each time he was tucked safely near me holding tightly to my hand, my heart did a flutter.
My smile broadened.
I savored the moments.
I decided that to ensure that I will continue to get affection from Sawyer, I am going to have to plan a trip to the Eiffel Tower.
1 comment:
Just ago to Vulcan!
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