The Last Straw

I am a mommy. And this is the story of the day I became infected with cooties.

I have always been a very affectionate mommy with all my boys. We cuddle. We kiss. We say I love you everyday, several times a day, and for no reason. I have always been proud that my boys show no fear when it comes to loving on me in public or in front of their friends.

And up until the other day I was proud that even my 14 year old still submitted to our family PDA. I love that he still curls up on my lap to cuddle with me when we watch TV and that he says "I love you bye" when we get off the phone- even in front of his friends! But then it happened. I apparently, and without notice, contracted parent cooties. The part that caught me off guard was that we weren't in front of anybody. And my apparent cooties were diagnosed suddenly and in a manner in which I would have never seen coming!

I picked my 14yr old up from high school and we decided to stop and get one of those slushy drinks from a gas station to share. He ran in to the store for me so I wouldn't have to get the baby out of the car. I even admired him as he waited and held the door open for a man and his little girl. Swoon. I raised a good kid. I love him. Then he came out of the gas station store and I saw it. Two straws. Hmmmm....let's see where this goes. He took the straws out of their packaging and placed them in the drink- then pointed them in different directions and made sure "mine" was taller than his so he wouldn't catch my COOTIES!

Me "Are you kidding?!"
Him "What?"
Me "You know what. Are you really making sure we don't drink off the same straw?"
Him "I don't want your lip gloss"

LIE! I have cooties! I just know it! My suspicions were confirmed when he accidentally lost track of whose straws were whose. You should have seen the look on his face! I thought he was gonna gag!

Me "It's fine. We've shared straws before and I give you kisses so it's the same thing"
Him "NO it's NOT!"

He then proceeded to hold the straws up to the light to see if he could determine whose was whose based on the lip gloss sparkling off the top.

There it was. The moment I had been waiting for since he was my baby. I have dreaded the moment when the kisses stop and the hugs only require a pat on the back and light chin on your shoulder. Where my "I love you"s are met with an "Uh huh" or an "Okay". I know this is how it goes and this part of my childrens' lives is inevitable. But it still sucks.

Luckily I still have 2 back up boys with another 14 or so years of love and straw sharing ahead!