I Took Prince Charming on a Date

This is picture is probably the last time I felt like a "beautiful princess."

My oldest son, Jackson, has always been the sweetest and most thoughtful child. He had a really large vocabulary as soon as he started talking. Almost like a prodigy.

When he was two, and for no apparent reason, he would say "Mommy, you are a beautiful princess!" I will never forget the first time he said it, I was shocked to hear my toddler saying a phrase that any woman would appreciate hearing. After a while, he said it to nearly every woman he met. I watched as these women swooned like they were in the presence of Prince Charming.

Jackson and I don't get time to ourselves very often, and since Noah decided he wanted to stay at Granny's house last night, I decided to take Jackson on a date.

I picked him up after work, and off we went. He wanted to go to Chili's, so we went. We completed all the puzzles in the kids menu, and he told me all about his day. I got to hear about things that he normally doesn't share. I heard about his friends, his big plans for his first science project, and of course, the big skate tricks that he is landing in his head.

After dinner, we went to a movie. I let him pick, since I hardly watch TV and really have no idea what's playing. He wanted to see a movie called Enchanted. I didn't expect him to want to watch a Disney movie...he's eight, and hardcore skater little boy.

In the movie, a cartoon princess gets banished from the kingdom, and finds herself in modern day New York City. She is bewildered, but keeps her rose colored glasses on. She is delightful! Everything is new, and exciting, and she is happy and bubbly and full of wide-eyed wonderment. She is radiant and charmingly naive. Like a little girl.

During the movie, Jackson took my hand...and held it. He hasn't wanted to hold my hand in more than a year. If I ask him to grab my hand while walking through a parking lot, he looks all around him first, ducks for cover, and reluctantly hands me his limp and resistant hand. Affection for Mom, publicly, is falling by the way side as he is turning into a pre-teen. I've missed my little boy who wanted to hug me and kiss me, and tell me loved me at least 20 times a day. It's been a big adjustment for me personally.

He laid his head on me, and we cuddled. As the movie went on, he turned and said that I look like the princess. We laughed a lot too. Jackson even said, "Mom, she's funny, like you!"

I kept trying to see the correlation that he saw, I do not feel like a princess. He's too young to be so charming, and he is blatantly honest most of the time. I know that he was saying that stuff because he meant it. He wasn't trying to get anything out of me either, he was just loving me.

When the show was almost over, and for the first time in maybe five years, and completely without provocation, he said "Mom, you are like the beautiful princess."

Who knew that a date with an eight year old could be the exact thing that this woman needed. I've never felt more loved, admired, or appreciated. Jackson has always been, and will always be, my Prince Charming.