It wasn't supposed to be....

He wasn't supposed to be hungry yet. He just ate 90 minutes ago, and a full bottle at that.

Yet, as I sat down to a quick supper for myself of canned corn chowder soup, a turkey sandwich and a coke zero, my son insisted from his play mat that yes, indeed, he was hungry.

Or maybe just lonely. He loves his play mat - the colors, the music, the hanging animals - and it is a safe place for him to play if I am otherwise occupied. But tonight, he was having none of it. The lights and colors would not satisfy him.

And I wanted to be otherwise occupied. I wanted a few minutes just to myself to have dinner. I couldn't enjoy it (and not because it was a lousy dinner) while he insisted that he didn't want to be down there by himself.

I went to the kitchen and picked out two vegetables. Tonight's fare would be orange. I gathered the required utensils, a bib, and a wet cloth, and lastly my son. I desposited all of this into and onto his high chair.

And an amazing thing happened. I got my time to eat, but not alone. Once he was sitting near me, Adam quieted down quickly and happily watched me eat. He chattered at me, more than with me, and blew some raspberries my way (that is today's stunning developmental milestone...I would rather he learn to roll over).

When I finished my last bite of soup, I popped open a small container of squash, dipped the baby spoon into it, and put it in his waiting mouth. I really can't tell what it is that he thinks of squash...he looks like he is alternately savoring and questioning the taste and texture of such a food. He ate every bite though and greedily went on to his favorite: carrots. The smooth velvety texture of such a colorful vegetable should never be underestimated. Each bite was greeted by Adam with a hearty groan of appreciation. It was as if he couldn't imagine a more perfect food on the face of God's green (and orange) earth.

So we ended the meal as we always do, though today's bit of squash in/on his nose was uncharacteristic, by sitting him on my lap and looking out the window to see what the world has been doing since our last meal.

This week has been horrible. I have missed deadlines, been reviewed at work, neglected to grade my papers, attended a 3.5 hour academic competition, forgotten more than I remembered, and managed to get 47 8th graders to accurately portray, as much as possible, the way of the cross through the eyes of Mary. I have been overworked, overtired, and overstressed all week.

But tonight, I had dinner with my son who loves me more than I deserve.