On the Theories of Freud

The punk and I joined our friend Susan on a walk this morning on the hilly streets of our neighborhood. As I huffed and puffed up the steep mountain terrain, my fit friend offered to push the stroller. (My heavy breathing ploy worked! I can totally handle those hills. Yeah. Mmm-hmmm.) The punk was curious as to why his mama was walking at his side instead of behind him; that has never happened before! So when he reached out his hand to hold mine, I melted right there on the spot. I nominate Susan to always be there to push the stroller so my baby and I can hold hands on our walks.

This sweet act began a conversation between Susan and me about the mother/son relationship. I said that I am a fortunate mother of a sweet, cuddly boy. He will lay his head on my shoulder, snuggle, hug, and kiss (which usually involves a wide open mouth and gobs of slobber on my cheek). In my limited experience, it seems that boys are cuddlier than girls, and more so with their mamas than their papas. Is this true? Of course, we moms (well, most of us) have something the dads don't. Boobs. And boobs are fun to cuddle up to, right boys? I guess we mamas can't help but expose our little men from the moment they are born to the mystery of the female figure. Freud was right; it's all our fault.

After our walk, the punk and I went on a lunch date to Cafe Rio. We waited in line behind a couple to whom I hadn't been paying attention until she started touching his bum. Actually, she was trying to flatten his back pockets, which were sticking straight out. Annoyed, he stepped back. This is when I looked up at their faces and realized they were mother and son. He said, "Stop being such a mom!" And she unapologetically said, "It's my job."