My Borrowed Son

ABCs and Wearable Things

He was growing up so fast, and everything felt normal. Despite their differences in size, Amanda felt as though there were no true difference between her and Parker. Seven months had taught her that much.

Amanda decided, after another twenty or so minutes, that she should get lunch started. Rather than just pick up Parker in his room and bring him with her, she decided to ask and offer him a choice. He was old enough to make choices after all.

"Parker? I'm sorry to interrupt but are you ready for lunch?" asked Amanda. Parker turned his soft brown eyes toward Amanda and nodded eagerly, the Tinker Toys in his hands as he continued to put the pieces together.

"Yes, momma," he said as he finished fitting the pieces together and then standing up expectantly, raising his hands for her to pick him up. "Up?" It made Amanda's heart melt.

"You want to come with me?" she asked. Parker nodded and grabbed with his fingers. "Use your words."

"Could... yes momma. Could I go... um... go with you to... um... make lunch?" Parker's adorable little "ums" as he pieces the words together quickly into fully coherent sentences was absolutely astounding. He was learning so fast every single day. She wanted to pat herself on the back for guiding him to use manners and proper words, but that wasn't what parenting was about.

It was about teaching Parker to be a polite young man. He was her son after all.

"Yes, you may," said Amanda as she lowered her hand into his room and he stepped on, grabbing one of his toys before he did. The two of them went to the kitchen where Amanda placed Parker on the counter next to the bread box. He knew where he was and was not supposed to go, but Amanda insisted on strapping the safety pin harness to the back of his shirt and pants

"Mom? Momma? Why... why do I need to wear this?" asked Parker. It was a question he had asked a million times as Amanda finished attaching the safety pin.

"Remember Parker?" asked Amanda. "It's for safety. The countertop is very high, and if you fell you would get hurt. I don't want you to get hurt." It wasn't the first time Amanda needed to explain this to Parker. He knew the reason. Still, he always seemed a little anxious when Amanda attached him to the line.

"Oh, okay!" Parker said as he sat down and began singing the alphabet song while Amanda crunched up some chips and made them both sandwiches. He was on his third time through when his little voice piped up. "Momma? Could... um... could we pway the afabet game?"

The alphabet game was something Amanda had seen online for young children. It was when you asked what sounds the letters made or what letter made what sound. The game also proposed, for advanced children, what words had the letter in them.

It wasn't something that Amanda didn't think a young child would be particularly interested in, and she only started integrating it to educate Parker; however, the more he learned and the more she read to him, the more he wanted to play the game.

The question made her heart swell with pride.

"Of course, Parker. Are you ready?" asked Amanda.

"Yes, momma," said Parker. He placed his toy on the ground and looked up at her eagerly.

"Okay, what letter makes the 'mmm' sound?" Amanda asked.

"M!" replied the small child without hesitation.

"Good job! What about the 'p' sound?" asked Amanda, making it sound like a little puff of air.

"P!"

"Good job, Parker. You're so smart."

The two of them continued all the way through the alphabet, pausing only when Parker had trouble with some of the letters that had the same sounding letters like "i" and "e" and "c/k". Amanda rewarded Parker with a little piece of chocolate and a promise they would continue the game once Parker finished his food and washed his hands.

True to her word, they continued playing when Parker finished his meal and insisted on washing his hands immediately. He asked when they could read and when they could play Sneak and Peak again, to which Amanda promised they would while she did some chores around the house.

At one point, Amanda began asking how to spell different words. They were simple, like door and cat, but he was sharp enough to sound out the letters. They sat and colored and drew out the letters for hours until dinner. It took everything in Amanda to tell him they needed to get ready for bed at the end of the night.

It almost resorted in tears, but Amanda reasoned with Parker that they could keep playing during bathtime and until they fell asleep, to which the toddler agreed.

Never before did Amanda know a toddler who was so adamant about playing learning games. He was hungry for knowledge, and Amanda would not deny him.

As Amanda laid down and drifted off to sleep with Parker learning how to spell "bed," she knew what she wanted to get him. He needed some little books and pencils to write with as well as some workbooks. It would take some ingenuity, but ideas were forming in Amanda's head.

She also needed some ideas for his birthday; or, rather, the day she found him. In the blink of an eye, she knew it would be upon her.

The mother's last thought before she drifted off tosleep was how time was moving way too fast and that, very soon, Parker would befive. When was his birthday? And had it really almost been a year?