What Do you Say...

My youngest son was born on Christmas day, 1991. From the day he was born until this morning he has been a challenge to me. Every "no" from my mouth is an open invitation for him to practice his debate skills. And he is quite good at debate too. When he was 3 weeks old my former mother-in-law pulled his crying, inconsolable form from my arms and said, "He was born to be your nemesis." She said it in her certain way that could have meant she was teasing or not. I could never be sure. None the less, her comment rang true. There was a time when I grew quite weary from his constant queries, challenges to my authority, and his strong sense of independence. I wanted to throw in the towel so to speak. At that point I thought he was lost to me; a stranger to me on every level. We could not communicate without a fight. My weariness instructed me to stop resisting, to release, and allow. I did simply because I could not struggle & fight him anymore. Something amazing happened. In the car one day as I drove him home from the Support Site he was telling me that his friends thought I was a pretty cool Mom, and that he thinks I am too. I was utterly shocked. This comment coming from the kid who loved to tell me why I am wrong and why I am dumb on a constant basis! WOW! Things have grown increasingly smooth & easy since that day a year or two ago. He shares everything with me, and he trusts me. Recently he surprised me by spending the money he received for Christmas on a tattoo of my name on his left arm. I found out about it when I asked him point blank if he had gotten a tattoo, because I knew he wanted to. He told me he wanted to honor me and was trying to save it as a surprise for Mother's Day but since I asked he had to show me. So, what exactly do you say to your son who expresses his love for you in such a way? I love you too, baby. I love you too.