You can go...

Brody goes through spurts where he experiences what we think are growing pains. It's usually his legs that will hurt, but he points to his shins rather than calves...so I don't think it's muscle cramps. What typically happens is that he'll wake up crying in the middle of the night. I'll stumble into his room and sit there rubbing his legs for 30 minutes or more. Usually until he's almost back asleep again. Thankfully this doesn't happen very often, however, the past 2 nights in a row he's woken up in the middle of the night with leg pains.

Last night I went into his room at midnight after I heard him crying. He wanted me to rub his legs, so I sat down beside his bed and started the massage. He asked if I was ok because I kept putting my head down on his mattress. I told him, "I'm just really tired." After rubbing his legs for a few more minutes he suddenly pulled his leg away from me and put it back under the covers. He looked up at me and said, "It's ok. You can go now. You can go back to bed. I can rub my leg now." His actions were showing such compassion and love for me in the midst of his pain. I asked if he was sure he'd be ok and after his reassurance, I headed back to bed.

How many times over the next 15 years will I hear those same words? "It's ok, Mom. You can go. I can do this now."