Thankful Thursday: Growing Independence

Even drying himself...

I cannot be the only one…who has noticed their child has started to show signs of real independence; whether buttoning up their own shirt or washing their own hair in the tub, the small things that can be done without Mama, are being done without her.

This realization came to me the other day as I was attempting to complete a set of sit-ups (attempting is the key word there) while the Sonny Boy was scrubbing away in the shower unassisted.  Although, I am too afraid of bathroom accidents to leave him alone in there, slippery floors covered with soap bubbles and a choice of scalding hot or extremely cold water make for some serious disasters, I no longer need to stand almost in the steaming shower and do all the washing myself. The Sonny Boy has finally started to take over this rather personal chore of making sure he doesn’t smell too much like a little boy, you know snips, and snails, and puppy dog tails, for when he heads to school the following morning.

Another moment that Sonny Boy’s independence really struck me was while he was getting ready to leave the house with his Dad for a little Saturday afternoon man time of In and Out Burgers and laughing at bodily functions, and I caught him buttoning up his own flannel shirt. Sonny Boy seemed to be struggling for a moment and I launched into let-Mama-help-you-mode, to which he replied, “I got this Mama.”  He’s got it? Sonny Boy actually turned down his Mama doing something for him? He did get that shirt buttoned up, he looked like he got dressed in the dark with the buttons being off by a button hole or two, but that little blue flannel shirt was definitely buttoned closed.

This Thursday I am grateful for the natural progression of my Sonny Boy’s growing independence and autonomy, this could be a glance into the future, a future when I might actually be able to finish a sentence of this blog without cutting open an Otter Pop, snapping a stubborn snap on a pair of Levi’s, or pushing a straw through a juice box without having juice shoot across the living room. 

It would be nice to have that time that I spend doing the mundane activities of the day for Sonny Boy to do things we enjoy doing together, like impromptu dance parties and laughing at the Hubs when he hurts himself while having a go at home improvement (this last one is completely unintentional, we just both happen to think grunting and under the breath cursing is funny sometimes…well, all the time).

He could dry himself even better with this towel!