Dawson Time

Today I took Dawson to his very first birthday party by himself. He's been to lots of other parties but never without his siblings by his side. As we walked out the door to the car this afternoon, instead of being excited he was sad.

"I don't want to go Mama. I want to stay home with Aiden. Why isn't he coming? Can I stay here?" he rambled on as he buckled in.

"Dawson, this is your friend. It's okay to go to a party by yourself. Mackenzie does it and so does Aiden. This party is going to be fun. It's at Monkey Joe's," I said trying to change his mood.

Once I explained to him what Monkey Joe's was, he completely changed his tune. He was squealing with excitement. On the way across town he even said, "Mama, can you please hurry and get me to the party?"

At the party he had a blast. He was having so much fun in fact that when another of the boys crashed into him and busted his lip, he said, "I'm okay Mama. I'm going to keep playing!"

After the party we wandered into the new grocery store next door. It was an Earth Fare, the kind of store you can wander around in and actually have fun (not to mention spend LOTS of money) while you are shopping.

We sampled everything and picked out a few things to bring home for dinner. Dawson wandered around me looking at everything. He wanted to help choose the items, and carry them. We really had a good time together.

I have to admit that when I arrived at the party I was a little disappointed that Aiden didn't get invited. He would have loved it and Dawson would have enjoyed it more with his brother and best buddy by his side. However, by the end of our time together I realized that God had given Dawson and me a special gift today.

It's not often that Dawson gets to do something special all by himself. As the resident baby for the past three years, he's more often the one left behind. The arrival of the new baby will probably rock his boat the most and God knows this.

That's why today, for several hours, Dawson got some time all to himself to be with me. He got all the attention. He received all of the big helper jobs. He got to tell his stories at the dinner table.

I am thankful for the gift of spending time with Dawson today. I pray that I will always remember how special it made him feel. I hope that we have lots more opportunities over the years to do it again.