A Look into the Future

So much of parenting involves the here and now. Whether I'm tending to a diaper explosion, dashing to kiss a boo-boo, hurrying to fasten a carseat strap, preparing a meal, or fielding urgent questions about pirates while folding laundry, it's all very much in the present tense. There's definitely not time to contemplate our carefree, kidless past or our mind-boggling, kidless future.

But we went careening ahead a few decades during a recent conversation in the car.

Joey is often quiet in the "way back," but I knew he was gearing up for something big.

"Mommy, Mommy!!"

I turned down the radio in time to hear, "Mommy, when I'm a grown-up, will you still have birthdays?"

I assured him that I would.

"Even when you're as old as an old man?"

Um, yes.

"Will I still be invited to your birthday parties?"

"Yes! Who else will blow out my candles?"

Joey pondered this for a moment, and then said words no mother wants to hear.

"Okay, Mommy, can you send me a birthday invitation in the mail? And a map, so I know how to get to your house? I might not know how to get there."

I think my consternation was palpable, and even a four year-old male knew that he should backpedal. Quickly.

"Actually, Mommy, I won't need a map. You know what? I think when I grow up, I'll be your neighbor! I'll live right next door to you and Daddy, and come over for dinner every night."

He shot me a winning, firstborn smile in the rear view mirror. He definitely knows how to play his cards.