Sunday morning during church James, the teenager, fell asleep. His head fell over on my shoulder and, y’all, I did not even wake him up. It just felt so darn good to have him snuggled up next to me. His snuggling days are WAY past over.
So, I just carpe’d the heck out of that diem. Any time I can get some one on one time with him I’ll take it. I’ll steal it, even. In 2012, on my birthday, I checked him out of school to go see the ten a.m. screening of The Hobbit. As we were walking through the parking lot another parent saw us and asked where we were going. When I told her, her mouth dropped open in horror and she said ‘checking out of school to go the movies? What do you think that teaches him, Mom?’ I replied ‘well, it’s my birthday and that’s how I want to spend it.’ Dad gum busybody…
My birthday that year was even more poignant because we walked out of the movie theatre and into the news that the shootings at Sandy Hook had happened. Yeah lady, pretty sure I could care less about what you think of me checking my kid out of school.
I’ve been thinking a lot about carpe diem lately. Specifically, how I want other people to carpe diem. I want it in theory – in actuality, I just want to do what I want to do without thinking about the other person. I can be pretty dang selfish.