Setting: June 2021 — Living room couch, where Lilo & Stitch was on its third round
Parenthood is full of contradictions.
When Caleb was six, he handed me a picture he’d been working on for two days — the two of us, sharing ice cream cones. He was so proud, said he made it just for me. I nearly cried. It was one of those moments that makes you think you’re doing something right.
Then, just a couple nights later, I reminded him it was bedtime. He was sprawled on the couch, deep into his third rewatch of Lilo & Stitch. Without even looking at me, he said:
“Don’t worry about me. Worry about yourself.”
And that, in a nutshell, is raising a kind, creative, stubborn boy.
One minute you’re the star of his artwork. The next, you’re the villain who dared suggest bedtime. Somewhere in between those two extremes, I’ve learned, is where love lives.
It’s stubborn and surprising, frustrating and funny — messy and miraculous all at once. But it’s love all the same.
This post is part of my One-Minute Memoir series — short reflections on small moments that still manage to say something big.
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