Thursday, September 8, 2005

A rose by any other name would not smell as sweet

Ryan pulled me aside the other night, while I was making dinner.

He does this alot these days, and I have to stop and listen, or risk offending him as he is telling me snippets from his day.  In a stream-of-consciousness kind of way, so I have to pay attention. 

Usually, it's about what went on in his classroom; what was for lunch (and how he didn't eat it, but ate "crackers"--I don't even want to know what that truly means, I am just gonna call it even that he ate);who got in trouble/and why; that kind of thing.

I'm puzzled, this time, though, because he's pulling me way aside, and whispering. 

"Mommy, do you know how you came into my class today?"

"Yes."  I'm thinking we're gonna have a huggy, thanks-for-coming moment here.

"Well, from now on when you come into my classroom, would you please not call me "Sugar" and call me Ryan?"

Guess I'm not having a huggy-moment.

"I did call you Ryan." 

"No, you called me Sugar.  And a kid, he made fun of me.  He said "Ryan" and when I looked at him, pointed at me and called me "sug-ar".  I don't want anyone making fun of me, so remember, call me Ryan.  You can still call me Sugar at home."

Awww.  He's killing me, he's so serious, so cute.

"Okay, I'll try.  I promise to try."

Ryan.  Ryan.  Ryan, I say to myself the next time I come to class.  And I bite back the syllable "sug" the second I see him.  "Sug-  I mean, Ryan."  (I whispered in his ear, 'Sorry.  I goofed.')

I knew this day would come, just like Ben-Ben ran it's course.

I remember why I call him "Sugar" in the first place.  He was three months old, his first Christmas, all roly-poly and just beginning to show us more personality.  I started calling him my little sugarplum, and it got shortened over time to "Sugar."  We all loved it, he was a sweet baby and it suited him.  Not to mention how much my husband's Southern relatives loved it too.

Tomorrow, I have to go to the school, and I'll probably be in Ryan's class at some point.

I wonder if he'd be put off if I asked him to wear a nametag?

Because he's always going to be Sugar to me.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

aww, thiis is so sweet (pun intended!) - boys are so adorable and remain baby cute for so much longer than independant girls seem too. My boys seem a little slower at maturing but I suspect one day all of a sudden it'll be woosh, no more kisses and Sugars in public. I suppose you really have to worry when they forbid you to "snookums" them at home too! By coincidence, I have a couple of Sugarplums too, but these are girls, so they're Sugarplum Fairies!
Tilly x
http://journals.aol.co.uk/tillysweetchops/Adventuresofadesperatelyfathouse/

Anonymous said...

Very sweet...

Anonymous said...

oh that was cute.  i guess he is getting at that stage huh.  hope u can remember to say ryan lol.  thanks for doing the 7's

Anonymous said...

How sweet!
xoxo

Anonymous said...

It's so hard to let go, yet us Mommy's are also so proud to watch them grow.  I know these moments well....for us it was "Honey" and let me tell ya, it's a hard habit to break.  As my oldest (11) slowly snips at the strings, I miss holding her hand and kissing her goodbye when I drop her off at school...that started last year.  Her sister is 8 and wants to stay little forever, so hopefully I have a few more years!  I love the way you share your stories.  It's very touching!  
Michelle  

Anonymous said...

sugar is so cute - my son got tagged with goofball - how nice of a mom am i??

Anonymous said...

this is soooo keyute, anna!!  sad sad day it is when you're children have grown outta ya in front of their friends ... but the great part is, THEY DON'T CUT YA OFF, COMPLETELY!  luv these happy endings!  reminds me of a quickie:  my daughter's 1/2 brother calls his grandma "honey" ... he grew up thinking it was her name because grandpa was always calling her "honey" ... we all LOVED it, thought it was so doggone cute and, even at the ripe old age of 17 (will be 18 in a couple of days), he STILL calls her HONEY! ... and it's STILL cute!

sue

Anonymous said...

You're making me cry!! That's such a cute story. I wonder if Alex will ever make me stop calling him "Buddy"?