The Taste of Innocence
I feel melancholy and at the same time awed after talking to my 5 and 3/4 year old son this morning as I helped him get ready for school. I was sitting on his bed facing him as he stood before me. Before he begins any “discussion” with me, he now prefaces everything with “mom, can we have a conversation about something?”. This is usually when he wants to talk about something specific. I actually don’t even remember why or what prompted this mornings talk. Now that I think about it, I only remember one thing that really got me.
He was wiping his face with his washcloth and I reminded him to wipe the corners of his mouth. He said something like, “I can wipe the corners but not too much on the inside because….” He has a contrary point to most of my requests. Anway, he then says something about wanting to make sure he doesn’t wipe away the taste of the rainbows in his mouth. Keep in mind, he had not brushed his teeth yet. I asked him, “you can taste rainbows?”. He replies, “yeah, you don’t know what rainbows taste like?” he continues, “rainbows taste like a whole lot of different colors all in one and all in your mouth…it’s nice ok?”
I guess I am just going to have to take his word for it. I can’t remember ever knowing what a rainbow tastes like, and it makes me want to cry.
Wow. What DO rainows taste like? I can understand your sadness at not remembering, but maybe you never knew before? Just think, when you were his age you had no idea what motherhood felt like, and now you do. We lose a lot as we get older, but we gain much, too.
Comment by Melissa — January 8, 2008 @ 7:38p
Salaam Alaikum Sis…
LOL!!! My daughter always says “can we have a confertation about something” before she wants to talk about something as well! That is hilarious.
I have to say I am with you… I don’t remember being able to taste rainbows either.
Peace and Blessings
Tru3
Comment by Tru3Woman — January 11, 2008 @ 12:07p
I can’t say that I remember what a rainbow tastes like, but I’m guessing for your son, it’s an amalgamation of everything that’s good.
Comment by Nikki — January 11, 2008 @ 6:43p