I completely forgot.
My son and I have been discussing sending treats into school for his birthday for several weeks now. Karson even asked me to scope out some particular cookies while at the grocery store last week. We had a plan. He was looking forward to it. Today is the day.
I completely forgot.
It seems that I have not always been one to completely forget about something. When I was in high school I had a system that helped me remember things. If I were laying in bed, for example, and suddenly remembered that I needed to take something to school the next morning or do something that next day, I would simply move my clock on my nightstand into a different position. I would turn it like 30 degrees and that shift would trigger my memory the next day. This is a true story. It seems ludicrous to me now! I’m almost incredulous at my self.
At this point in my life, if I were to unplug my clock, drag it downstairs by the cord and put it in the refrigerator I’m not confident that it would trigger anything in my memory the following day.
Thus, nothing helped me realize that today was the day to send the cookies.
It wasn’t until I watched Karson wave to me from the bus window as it pulled away from the curb that I realized something wasn’t right. Was I forgetting something? Wait! Where is my clock?
I gasped as it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn’t sent the aforementioned cookies with Karson. In fact, I hadn’t even purchased the aforementioned cookies yet! I slapped my hand on my forehead while my daughters looked at me and wondered what was wrong. “Get in the car, girls!” I stammered. “We’ve gotta go buy Karson’s birthday treats and take them to his school!” Thankfully, they cooperated as briskly as two preschoolers can and like a sprinting turtle we were on our way.
Now, back to the aforementioned cookies. The store didn’t have any.
Strike two for ‘Ol Mommy. Now what?
I went over to the bakery counter and saw some cupcakes that had cute little footballs stuck in them. Perfect. Karson is obsessed with football right now. These will be great. But there weren’t enough cupcakes for his entire class. Alright. This was just a curve ball, not a strike. I asked the woman behind the counter if she had any more footballs I could put on some different cupcakes. She looked… of course they didn’t.
Okay then. How about anything related to football, like a helmet or an Indianapolis Colt’s logo? Karson loves the Colts. She brought me some cute little helmets with the New England Patriots logo on them and asked if they were generic enough. Uhhh… no. That would be another team, I said. I’m looking for the Colts with the little horseshoe. Thankfully the other lady behind the counter knew a tad more about football (which isn’t saying much) and found some Colt’s helmets. Touchdown!
The girls and I scurried into Karson’s school with the cute football themed cupcakes. We did our due duties of signing in at the front office and then marched down the hall to deliver the goods. The teacher was standing in front of the board and was in the middle of teaching the class. I hesitantly peeked my head in the door. She motioned for me to set the treats on the counter in the back.
It was then that Karson saw us. His face lit up with a huge smile. He got up from his chair, came to me and gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. Then he walked over to both of his sisters and kissed them as well. I almost cried. That boy just melts me. He is just who he is all the time. He had no inhibition about kissing me or his little sisters in front of the entire class. He simply loves others and expresses his love without any worry of what someone else may think. I adore this quality in both my son and my husband. They are so real and true to themselves in every setting. I want to be more like them.
Alright. Enough of the gush and mush. I need to get back to my to-do list. And come to think of it, I would like to add one more thing to remember to do:
#53: Forget to send Karson’s birthday treats next year too.
Christy Cabe 