The other night, I was snuggling with Elliott before bedtime. He likes to have all the lights turned off, no singing, and just snuggle in silence. He sometimes says to me, “Don’t talk,” but other times, we will chat and it’s often when he drops some of his best pearls.
I asked him, “Remind me, what do you want to be when you grow up.” Sometimes, he’ll say paleontologist, but i think it is just to appease adults who ask. He seems acutely aware that he does not really know and his answer will change.
So he said, “I do t know.” To which I responded, “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up either.”
“But Dad, you alweady grown up!”
“Yeah, buddy, I guess you’re right.”
“So you…you a nothing!” Haha. He laughs and finds this quite amusing. Then he gets serious.
“It’s ok. I understand. I a nothing, too.”
“What do you mean, E?”
“Well, I just a kid. So I not know what I want to be.”
“Yeah, that’s true. But you’re just four years old so you’ve got some time to figure it out. No one really expects a kid to know what he wants to do.”
We lay there in silence for a bit. “Well…you are my Dad.” It was dark, but it sounded like he said it with little smile.”
“Yeah, buddy. And that’s probably the most important think I can ever be.”
Snuggling resumes. And both of us feel a little better with our place in life. 🙂