Happy Tyler's Day

On the way home from day care Friday afternoon, Tyler announced that Sunday was going to be “Tyler’s Day.” He would get to choose what we would eat on Sunday, he would get control of the television remote and he would pick where we went that day.

After celebrating Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, he truly wanted to know when it would be kid’s day. When I kindly told he that there was no official kid’s day – he created a day for himself, calling it “Tyler’s Day.”

His idea of a perfect day was actually very simple, innocent and doable. He wanted to mow the lawn with daddy, have ham and cheese for lunch, get a shake from either Steak & Shake or Cook-Out, go swimming at the neighborhood pool, and watch a NASCAR race on television.

After mowing the lawn on Saturday, we went out to lunch, ran errands, ordered an M&M shake from the Steak & Shake drive-thru, watched the NASCAR practice on the Speed channel and went swimming at our neighbor’s house. When I tucked my happy, yet sleepy boy into bed. I asked him how he had enjoyed his special day. I thought this was a reasonable question, seeing that we had accomplished his four-year-old bucket list that day. His head quickly popped up form his pillow and he said, “Mommy, I said Sunday was Tyler’s Day, not Saturday. We will just do other things since we already mowed the lawn and drank a shake.”

The next morning, Tyler bounced out of bed ready for his special day, which began with a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and a cup of apple juice. Then he settled on the couch to watch some of his favorite shows on Nick, Jr, because it is “like preschool on TV.” When he thought Todd was reaching for the remote, he gently reminded him that it was “Tyler’s Day.” When I left for the grocery store, he asked if I might be able to get him a small treat to celebrate his day. He was overjoyed when I returned with a Cars bat and ball – a $2.99 clearance find at Walgreen’s. After his special lunch of rolled up ham, cheese slices, Fish crackers, pineapple and coffee milk, we headed to the neighborhood pool with his cousins. Before dinner we toasted Tyler and after dinner, Uncle Keith (who is visiting from Massachusetts) took Tyler into the backyard to play some baseball. A scoop of cookie and cream ice cream and a Chips Ahoy cookie finished off his day.

Later that evening, my happy, yet sleepy boy told me that he had the best “Tyler’s Day” ever. My heart melted as he hugged me goodnight. Before shutting his eyes, he announced that next week we would celebrate “Molly’s Day,” and he would help her choose what to do for her special day, since her vocabulary only consists of “ball,” “bye-bye,” “cracker,” and “more.”

True confession of the day: I admire my son for coming up with the idea of “Tyler’s Day,” but am relieved that his requests were simple.