Do you remember when you were a kid and something happened that showed you that your parents were really actual human beings. When you first started to realize that they were not always your mom and dad–that they had lives before you were born. Well, my son, I’ll call him Mr. Melodrama, had that moment with me a couple of days ago.
I had found my old lab coat in a bag of old clothes I was sorting through, and decided to wash it. Once it was done, I tried it on to see if it still fit, and it does. Mr. Melodrama wandered into the room while I had it on and he looked at me kind of weird, then went and got my stethoscope and brought it to me. I hung it around my neck and stood there, looking at him. I could see the wheels turning in his head as he thought.
Finally, he said, “You used to cut people open. Is that a real, hospital-issue stethoscope? Did you wear that lab coat in the hospital? Did you really listen to people with your stethoscope?” I told him that the hospital didn’t give me the stethoscope, I had to buy it, but yes, I was involved in the cutting open of people, and yes, I wore the lab coat in the hospital, and yes, my stethoscope had actually listened to numerous people’s hearts and lungs. His eyes just shone and after a moment, he said, “Cool.” Then he asked me to listen to his heart and then he listened to mine.
That is one of the best things about having a kid, that moment when they actually *GET* something. When you see the light of recognition spark to life in their eyes. It’s pretty awesome and actually makes up for some of the frustration. Also, there is no better feeling in the whole world than when they spontaneously run up to you, fling their arms around you and yell, “I love you, Mommy!” in your ear–you know, that ringing, tingly I-will-never-hear-right-again feeling? Yeah, that’s the one, only better. 
