It’s late. I’m sitting on the floor watching the end of a movie. I hear rustling and my little 4 year old Flynn appears. His eyes are puffy, ‘Dad can I have a drink.’ I give him a little plastic glass, he drinks the lot. I give him a hug and send him to bed, watch him shuffling away half asleep. Little boy.
A minute later he re-appears, his bottom lip quivering. ‘Luca hit me’. He’s dazed and confused.. I pick him up, carry him back to bed where his brother Luca is fast asleep. I tell him Luca didn’t hit him and tuck him in, but he insists, starts to cry. Over tired. I tell him I’ll cuddle with him a bit.
So I hop in beside him, his little chest breathing hard with tears. Tucks his face into me.
I whisper ‘I love you little boy. I love you more than all the toys in the world’. His tears stop. ‘I love you more than all the lollies ever, more than everything in the whole wide world. I want you to be happy and do all the amazing things you ever want to do.’
He’s quiet in the dark for a moment. Then he says ‘I love you Dad’ and gives me a tight long hug, takes a deep breath, and is asleep.