I'll miss you.

Oliver had an "off" night last night.  He was up from 4:30-6:00 am.  He wanted me to rock him in the rocker.  He wasn’t crying, he just could not get back to sleep and wanted to be held.  He was up again at 7:00 am and not his usual happy self.  When I came into his room he was groggy and seemed a bit irritated.  He asked me to pick him up, but he was not very responsive to my chirpy "good morning!"  So I peppered him with a few kisses and a few more good mornings.  Still no good.  I tried another round.  Still no smile, but this time he said, "again."  So I gave him another kiss and good morning.  "Again."  It took about 20 good mornings and kisses and agains, but he finally broke out of his funk, smiled and said "good morning!"  He seemed to know that he just needed a little help to shake off whatever was bringing him down.   

Once we were off to a better start, we came out for breakfast.  Daddy was in the kitchen getting it ready, so Oliver and I set up at the table and picked our word for the day.  His first choice:  "CHICKEN".   A recent like of his is the book Chicken Little, and he is pretty cute saying "goodness, gracious" and "sky is falling, eekkkk!, bonk!"  He also has a Lego chicken that we misplace or the cats borrow frequently, so we will go on chicken hunts and he will laugh about the "chicken [on the] loose."  Finally, we have another kid's book about different countries, which has a page with a mama chicken and her two chicks in the background of the picture.  So another inside joke is, "mama [and] two chicks loose [in] China."  He called out each letter without missing a beat as I wrote C-H-I-C-K-E-N on the chalk board, and then we had a laugh when I illustrated our word with a mama chicken and two little chicks (one holding an umbrella with acorns falling like chicken little).

After breakfast, it was time for me to go to work (the hardest part of my day).  Usually, I leave after Sheryl comes, but today I had to leave early.  Per my usual, I told him I was leaving for work, I love you, I'll miss you, and I will see you tonight when I get home.  Per his usual, he said, "No, work.  Home!"  So I told him I loved him and I would miss him again, but that I had to go.  He looked me in the eyes and as clear as day said, "I'll miss you."

I came in to work early this morning because I have to get a draft patent application off to the client today.  But, all I can think about is whether my sweet little boy is going to have a good day.  I miss you, Oliver.

The picture that Joe texted of Oliver playing this morning after I left.