Letting Go

Coming down off of a quintessentially beautiful fall weekend. Truly, perfect. It's days like the last two that remind me why I put up with all the other ridiculous weather of the Northeast. But I realize you didn't come here to talk about the weather.

For the last two years, Leo has had had a pair of peer buddies that come to the house for an hour every weekend. They've grown from children to teenagers in those two shorts years as boys that age are known to do and they're now in high school. Leo looks forward to his visits from Jake and Adam with an almost pitiful urgency. He's been known to stand in the mud room for an hour before they arrive and look longingly out the window. And when they leave? Sometimes he stays there for another hour, pining for their return.

Of course Leo adores their visits. It's two boys paying attention to only him. They play basketball and wiffle ball and kick ball. They read books. They draw. They create intricate obstacle courses with chalk and slides and tunnels on the driveway.

This morning Leo asked if he could go on a walk with Jake and Adam and although my immediate reaction was HELL NO (flight risk), Erin and I discussed it and realized, well, Jake and Adam are in high school. Then there is the whole Leo-Listens-To-Others-Way-Better-Than-He-Listens-To-Me phenomenon.

And so, I took a deep breath and let go. It's really hard sometimes (no kidding).

Thankfully, I wasn't home when the boys arrived and disappeared down the street with Leo and his tricycle (Leo's idea of a "walk" is riding his trike). Good thing I wasn't home because I might not have been able to handle it. I'll admit I checked my phone a little more than usual while Ellie and I were at Costco, for texts or voicemails or missed calls, bearing some catastrophic news. I know, I know.

When I returned, Erin told me the boys said Leo was great. Stopped at every crosswalk with them (something he does not always do with me--shock). They even walked with him down an extremely busy street and he was apparently also just fine. They went to the park and he played for a while and when it was time to go he left without a fuss. The only thing he was upset about was that they couldn't stop for ice cream at the sweet little ice cream parlor at the end of our street.

Next time, I'll be sure to give the boys ice cream money.