Afternoon Hugs

Every night when I get home from work the boys run to me with big hugs yelling "Mommy!!" Or, so I thought both my boys were doing this. It suddenly occurred to me this week that Jay doesn't do that anymore. In fact sometimes I actually have to go looking for him in the house to greet him in the afternoons. He's usually hiding playfully from me, ready to jump out and scare me rather than hug me. I know that Jay still ran to me when I would get home from work when he was Nick's age but I'm wondering when it stopped. It's bittersweet because although he no longer runs to me after work with big hugs I still get to tuck him in bed at night and he still likes me to read to him. After I read to him I rub his feet (his choice over having his back rubbed). It's our nightly ritual. Only I know how much Jay likes it when I rub between his toes (don't ask me why he likes this but it relaxes him, go figure). He also still has to go to bed with the "blankie" he's had since birth so there are still some "little boy" things about Jay that I'm savoring because I know soon enough these days will only be a memory and I'm left wondering where did all the time go? I wish I could slow time down for a little while because soon Nick, my baby, won't be greeting me at the door anymore either. But then when I fast forward my life to another 7 years, knowing my two boys they will probably be greeting me at the door with farts & burps asking me what I'm making for dinner, after they ask me how my day was! Ha.