Stealing Moments 
By Amy Matlock

       For the past six years, Alex, my oldest son has been, what I call, a high-
maintenance child.  He is constantly moving and talking.  His conversations are usually a 
myriad of questions and he is always three questions ahead of our current answer.  
Spending a whole day with Alex could be quite taxing physically and mentally.  Having 
such a curious and active child, Paul and I could not wait for him to start kindergarten.  
We thought, “Yeah!  He will have other kids to play with and other adults to quiz and 
talk to!”  Having missing the cut-off, we had to wait until he was six to put him in.  The 
last three months of this summer were long.
	Then, there it was, the first day of school!  While a little sad thinking about where 
the past six years went, I was extremely excited for him (and me as well).  I walked Alex 
to his class, he found his desk and immediately started to inspect everything.  I tried to 
kiss him before I left, but he shrugged away from me.  A little disappointed that he did 
not return my affection, I left the classroom.  After shaking off my sadness, I walked 
back to the car finding myself beaming with excitement for the both of us.  
	Exciting it was.  In the first few weeks of school he learned to write his first and 
last name, pre-math patterns, and how to sing “The Old Grey Mare, She Ain’t What She 
Used to Be.”  Much to our surprise, he took an interest in art and told us all about a man 
named Oldenburg who designed the shuttlecocks at the Nelson Atkins Museum.  He was 
growing so much, his freckled baby-face seemed so much more mature and he had his 
first loose teeth!
	After settling in to our routine, I was thinking about how much Alex was enjoying 
school and about how much more time I have for his two siblings.  But then, I got this 
overwhelming feeling of sadness; I missed him.  I began to think,  “Who was this crazy 
woman who was so ready to give him away?  I have just thrown my baby to the wolves!  
I want him back, too many questions and all!”  With our lives in a busy routine, I found 
myself longing for alone time with Alex.
	Well, our alone time came, about 3 a.m. one morning.  Alex came into our room 
because he had a bad dream (very unusual for him).    I was thinking he dreamt about a 
natural disaster, getting lost, or losing his favorite stuffed toy.  “What was your dream 
about, bub? “ I asked.  “Getting shots at the doctor!  They hurt!”  As I walked him back 
to bed, he asked when he had to go to the doctor.  I explained that next time he goes it 
will be just for a check-up, no shots and I put him to bed.  Succumbing to insomnia, I 
decided to stay up and watch television.  Soon after, Alex comes to join me.  He cuddles 
up with me in my blanket and we watch an episode of “Between The Lions.”  
	As we sat there, I came to a realization that this is what it will be like from now 
on.  Instead of having my child all of the time, I will have to wait for the weekends, 
holidays and summer vacations.  I will have to make dates and wait for stolen moments 
like this to be with him.  As I was lost in thought, Alex informs me for the tenth time in 
one week “Mr. Oldenburg made the shuttlecocks.  Can we go see them Mommy?” “Yes, 
we certainly can, Alex.  How about we make a date?”  “Really, we can go?” he asked.  
“Yes, Alex we can, but now it is time for bed.”