Pre-Quarantine

My last normal weekend was March 6th through 8th. My son and I always have movie nights on Fridays. I am a single mother with three jobs, but always made sure I had Tuesdays and Fridays off specifically for my son. Tuesdays are discounted movie theatre ticket days. Cheap tickets, a bucket of popcorn and a large Coke to share was our night out. Fridays consisted of stopping at Wal-Mart to rummage through their $3 to $5 movie bins, then a stop the Dollar Tree for snacks, then home to watch the movie we just picked out and eat junk food for dinner. These were our nights in, and they were my favorite. You have to enjoy the little things right?

March 6th, we watched a movie and binged out on junk food as usual. Of course this was when everything really started to get scary with the virus, as there was talk about shutting everyone down if they weren't essential. Yet, we took our night and relaxed, cuddled on the couch under a Harry Potter blanket, with popcorn on our breath.

My son's birthday is March 4th. This year, he turned 11. Ahh! So we spent Saturday, March 7th shopping for birthday decorations. His birthday theme was Sonic. Typically, I use my tax money to throw him a big birthday bash, but this year it took a little longer to get to me. Being on a budget for his party, I convinced my best friend to print our Sonic characters for cupcake toppers. I baked 24 cupcakes, and a double decker blue cake with grass on top; all with ingredients I already had in this house. Perfect! I bought frosting and used food coloring I already had to make all of the sonic colors needed for the cupcakes and cake grass. I went to the dollar store for more snacks and drinks, streamers, balloons, plasticware, paper plates and paper cups.

I did all of the baking, and pulled out the necessary dishes needed for the snacks. My best friend came over with the cupcake toppers, helped me cut them out and decorate the house while the cupcakes were cooling. She is the real MVP.

March 8th is THE day. My son woke up so happy and so excited he could hardly contain himself. I did some finishing touches on the decorations, and a little more cleaning to make sure everything was perfect. My son made a cup of Starbucks Decaf Coffee and poured caramel macchiato creamer into it until it no longer looked like coffee. He say he sipped it with joy is an understatement. Upon finishing his coffee, I suggested we go for a walk around the block because it was BEAUTIFUL outside. One of the most beautiful days we had had in a while. (Thank you, Jack Frost.)

As we near home, I surprise him by stopping at our local ice cream shop. I don't care what anyone says, they have the best ice cream on this planet. It was their first day open since winter. I think to myself, My goodness, I want to live in this moment forever. He is ecstatic to have ice cream of course! We finish our walk home eating our cold treats. We take a seat on the living room floor, pooped from our walk, and enjoy our ice cream. My son takes a look around the room and smiles. He says, "This is the best day ever. Thank you for everything." He hugs my arm and sighs, as my heart melts into a puddle of love.

We hang out on the floor, even after we've finished our ice cream, and talk until people begin to arrive. We laugh, play, and celebrate the life of my son. My son who is so compassionate, empathic and understanding in everything. My son who is loving, caring and so silly. We celebrate the love of my life.