No More Lovies

My children are growing up too fast! Last Tuesday, May 20th, when I went in to tuck Jack into bed, he had Homer, Car Blankie, and Car-Star Pillow next to his bed. Homer was his first lovie that I gave to him when he was just months old to help him keep from scratching his face when he would flail his arms. Slowly his quilt, Car Blankie, also became a security item (a lovie). Later, Jack and I did a sewing project and the pillow we made, now known as Car-Star pillow, also became a required lovie at bedtime. On Tuesday, Jack put away these "childish things" forever (as Paul says in the Bible). He told me that he was growing up and that he did not want to sleep with them anymore. It's a strange feeling to have my 8-year-old announce that he is "growing up". I was definitely more upset about him weaning himself from his lovies than he was. I teased him a little to make light of the situation, pretending to cry so that I would not actually do it. He thought it was funny and he made a joke about someone being in college and still sleeping with their lovies.

Little did I know, while I was pretending to cry and whine about my baby boy growing up, that the real tear jerker was coming. After I prayed with him, he told me that he did not want me to kiss him good-night anymore. "Not even on the forehead? " I asked. Not even on the forehead.

(In the picture, you can see that Homer has been "loved" so much that his leg is hanging on by a mere thread. Pretty amazing that he is in such pitiful condition because I have performed "surgery" on Homer more times than I can remember.)