A Turkey Day to Remember

“Dad, are you coming to my school for Thanksgiving dinner on Friday?”

My 10-year old’s eyes held hope as he asked the question. I had already told him yes twice on the subject. His mother had also told him I was coming. Still, he wanted reassurance and he was going to ask the question again and again until the moment I showed up.

“Yes, I’ll be there.”

“Good, bring money. You’ll need to pay for your meal.”

My son went back to what he was doing, content for now. I wonder if he knew what I was thinking.

That he was in fifth grade and that this Friday would be my last chance to visit his school for a turkey day. They don’t have turkey days in middle school. As a parent, I know I mark milestones as they happen. However, when I can mark them in advance, it makes me more determined to be there on those days. There are no more kids after him.

My older son, a high school freshman, is already showing signs of his independence. We went to the Georgia Dome recently to watch his high school marching band perform in a competition. Though it was all day program, we only stayed for the morning session. Before we left, my wife went over to see him and make sure he had enough money to buy himself dinner. She came back a few minutes later.

“You didn’t need to go down there,” I said.

She gave a half smile. “Well, I didn’t want him to go hungry tonight.”

“Didn’t you see his hand gestures waving you off?”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t you see that he was sitting between two cute blonde girls?”

My wife ignored me after that, which 1% of the time means I’m right and the other 99% of the time means that I’m in trouble. (It’s so rare that I’m part of the 1%.) However, at least she accepted our son telling her that he was fine.

And so, with Friday approaching, I look forward to my last turkey day with my younger son. It’s come too soon.

So how about you? Do you feel differently as you watch milestones approach vs. not seeing them until they happen? What are your favorite moments?

Special thanks to all the blog visitors from American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). My blog traffic has more than doubled since the beginning of ACFW’s First Impressions writing contest. I’m enjoying serving as coordinator for the Young Adult/Children’s category.