Don't Be Sad

As part of the parenting arrangement my ex and I have, our son spends two weeks with each parent in the summer. Two weeks of boy-lessness took some getting used to, but I've gotten to a point where I can look forward to both of those occasions.

My son does, too, although sometimes I feel like it's getting harder on him the older he gets. I think what it really is, however, is he's better able to articulate how much he misses the other parent.

I typically get a call about halfway through his dad's time from a boy sadly telling me how much he misses me. I was hoping that this year would be different because, despite the leading-up-to-the-day assertions of how much he'd miss me, the actual drop-off was a very "see-you-later-alligator" affair. Good start, right?

But earlier this week, I got The Call. The sad little boy, telling me how much he misses me. And in trying to cheer him up and make him feel better, I told him something I now regret: "Don't be sad."

No, I don't want him to be sad. But I do want him to know it's OK to *be* sad: that sad (or mad or happy or silly) are all emotions it's OK to feel and telling someone he trusts about those feelings is good and right. I don't want him to ever think he has to hide his emotions from me. 

So now I just have to try to figure out how to work that into a conversation once he comes home!