Crying in line at Five Guys

Sometimes momentous occasions happen at a simple place and time. I stayed up until 4am on December 24th. I purchased an additional line and phone number for my son for Christmas. It was the best $20/month I’ve ever spent. No data, just the bliss that comes with knowing my son is only a phone call away.  But, things didn’t go according to plan.

 

No follow-through

Inattentives and perhaps many ADHDers are known for having little follow-through.  In my late teens and 20’s I thought I was a flake. It was ok by me because when it came down to it I was such a connected, caring person that my friends and family dealt with my flakiness. Once I had a child I dropped that character trait as well as I could. But it still shows up, sometimes.

Cell phone store

 

Did you cringe when you read that heading? I did. It took me about 45 minutes to add a line and reactivate an old phone for my son. 35 minutes of that time was spent listening to a sales pitch about upgrading my phone and 9 minutes waiting. During the 39 seconds, it took the manager to physically add the line to my bill, I didn’t ask one important question. Could you call the phone?

You see, it was my husband’s awesome idea to have my son’s present “ring” on Christmas morning. I loved this idea.  So, after guests left on the night of the 24th I set about calling the phone and . . . Nothing. After 1 hour on the phone with my carrier, 3 discussions with various technicians, and a lot of revamping “settings” on my part, there was no way to get that phone to ring.

 

Moving Forward

So, I beat myself about the phone for a few minutes.  Then, I remembered one of my favorite “spiritual growth” phrases from The Untethered Soul, Choose to be Happy.  I decided “I’m going to be thankful that I have the phone to give him.”  I wrapped up the phone with his new number.  “Over break, it will be fixed,” I thought.

 

Five Guys

On December 27th we went to Five Guys after the phone was fixed.  My son called his father to ask for his food order.  B was excited to have his own phone!  He was grinning from ear to ear.  And my eyes filled with tears because he was such a big boy with that cell phone, taking his Dad’s order and talking to the cashier.  He’s amazing.  I didn’t ruin his life because the phone didn’t ring on Christmas morning.  I chose to be happy.

We should all cut ourselves some slack.  When we cry, it doesn’t have to be sad.  It doesn’t have to be because your son got sent to the principal’s office.  You don’t have to lose it when your daughter is physically ill on Sunday nights thinking about 6 hours with a teacher who “hates” her and has pegged her as a delinquent.

 

We can be proud of our children. We can celebrate the little things because they matter, too. My little man, who despises school, but does his best, is perfectly comfortable taking an order on his phone, placing it and then paying with my credit card.  He’s got this.  He can do things.  He’s growing up.

“Mami, are you ok?”

“–Yes, B.  I’m ok.”  I’m just a happy mom, crying in line at Five Guys.