When Mom Forgets What You Need...Just Ask

I was tucking in the boys tonight and Zach was a little more conversational than normal. I found a little boy devotion book on his shelf that we had read together some but never got all the way through. I told him that we should get back to reading devotions together in the morning and he said we should start tomorrow.

After putting Matt in his crib and turning to leave I heard a voice "Hey, Mom". (Zach always puts "Hey" before Mom when he addresses me). I looked back to see what he needed and as plain as day he posed a question. "Can we do that thing that we did when I was three?" Oh boy, I had to think for a minute about some of the things he may be talking about because we did a few things when he was three!

I went back to sit down next to him on his bed and tried to probe a little deeper into his mind. I thought maybe he meant the toddler devotion book we read at that time so I asked about that. He said, "no, we read devotion, ate breakfast, brushed our teeth..." That is when it hit me. His preschool teacher, in helping us get used to transitions and things that he struggled with at the time, printed us a bunch of PECS pictures and gave us a velcro chart to use at home to help him with his morning, after school and before bed routines.

I asked him about it and he smiled real big and nodded. I love that face...the one I see whenever he knows that I "get it"! I asked if he wanted me to use pictures or just words now since his can read and he told me he liked both. But, he explained, he wanted to be able to "put a check" next to it when he is done. Then, since he was on a roll he asked "can I have one for morning time, home from school time, and bed time too"? Bless his little heart...he knows what he needs even when I had overlooked that myself. He asked for it. I just love him! He is getting so good at communicating.

So, of course after his bedroom door closed I was off to find the perfect updated (he wanted one "for someone who is 5, not 3") routine chart. There is never anything PERFECT but I did find three things I could put together and make something I think he will be THRILLED with when he wakes up in the morning. It is so rewarding as a mom to know that I am providing something that my children need. This was one of those great days!