"If you need anything from the freezer, come get it now," Ant says. "I'm making ice cubes."
Why can't I open the freezer?
"Oh, well I guess it's okay here," he says as he slides the ice cube tray into a free spot on the freezer floor. "Last time, I put the tray in the door and somebody opened it and got water all over the floor."
Five years of instruction, correction, and explanation... I wonder what the sum of it all will be? He knows how to do laundry, pack for a trip, shop for bargains, read nutrition labels, clean a toilet...
He knows why it's important to hang your towel up, change your pillowcase, brush your teeth, and to never leave the kitchen when the stove is on.
He knows what the road signs mean, why you should clear the snow off the car, and how important it is to let people merge.
He knows how to negotiate an airport.
He knows how to approach dogs, how to raise them, and why he can't have a lizard.
He knows how to measure flour, where to crack an egg, how to make cleaning up easier, and when you can improvise with a recipe.
He knows Ping, Ferdinand, Roald Dahl, Mark Twain, the Gremlins, The Princess Bride.
He knows how to get through difficult tasks, how to come up with a realistic compromise, and which are the best lemon cookies.
This and more. What things did he learn from me that I'm not aware of, what things did I miss? If I had known it would only be five years, what else would I have done? At this moment right now, I feel like I have done well. We read bedtime stories to each other, we played games, we went to fairs and festivals, plays and shows, we made meals and lots of cookies together. We went for walks and watched movies, bathed the dogs, compared books, and did art projects. We argued, we hugged, we talked.
He was so little and cautious when he came to us- he seems so lanky and sure of himself now.
I told him I love him and I'll be here forever, forever, forever, for whatever he needs, but that he'll be fine because he's smart and he's strong and he's capable- and he knows what to do.
He's my kid too.
