I Won't Talk About It!

Aaron was out of bed and happy this past Saturday morning, which he is on most mornings anymore.  A happy Aaron is always a nice thing for us.  He was enjoying this Thanksgiving break full of food and visits from friends and having Andrew home and no commitments.  As Aaron and I talked on this morning, and I casually drank my coffee, he finally got around to what was really on his mind.  It was his keyboard and when I was going to plug it in for him, which was no surprise to me at all.  He knows, though, that I don’t want him going on and on about it.  Yet he always thinks that I just might need a little reminder.  Mom could be forgetful, he reasons, and so he feels that he must help me in this area.

He stood by the table in his pajamas, fidgeting, as I waited for what I knew was coming.  However, on this morning he tried a different tack.  “Mom,” he said, “I’m not gonna say anything about you putting in my keyboard.”  And he stood there just watching me.  I chuckled, and he was clueless.  “OK, Aaron,” I replied.  I went on with my coffee and with reading the newspaper…….and he continued standing there, silently looking at me.

“So I won’t say anything about the keyboard,” he repeated. 

“That’s fine, Aaron,” I again replied.  I acted as if this conversation was just as usual an any other, but I so wanted to burst out with laughter. 

He finally walked over to pour some water and take his pills.  Soon he was once again hovering around the table, and his thoughts were as clear to me as if they were written on his forehead.  I just waited for it.

“So Mom, I’m going on up to shower.  I won’t say anything about you putting in my keyboard.”

“That’s great, Aaron!” I said.  And he walked away a little disappointed, I think, that I didn’t mention the keyboard.  If Mom would only say something about it, then he would feel free to be out with it!  Too bad!

When he was back downstairs, his arms full of his laundry, he stared at me as he walked past the table.  He put his clothes in the laundry bin and then there he stood again, looking at me as I pretended not to notice.

“I won’t talk about my keyboard,” he resumed.

“All right, Aaron,” I acknowledged.

“So I’m just gonna wait on my keyboard, right?” 

“Right,” I briefly replied.

I know he felt like time was interminable at this point.  Mom wasn’t getting it.  He wasn’t even talking about the keyboard, in his opinion, and still Mom wasn’t mentioning when she would put it in. 

I poured his coffee and carried it to his room, but he knew that I had not yet plugged in his keyboard. 

“I can watch a video,” he offered.

“OK,” I casually said.

“Because I’m not gonna mention the keyboard,” he repeated.

He stood there waiting……..waiting on Mom who just wasn’t at all thankful for the fact that he wasn’t even talking about the keyboard. 

Finally, he saw me finishing with the newspaper and straightening up the table.  Thinking that I might be headed to take a shower next, he saw another opportunity.

“You could put it in before you shower or after you shower, right?” he hopefully asked. 

I just smiled and went on about my business, but soon I was upstairs retrieving the keyboard from its hiding place, to the great delight of Aaron.

As I plugged it in, he happily said, “Mom!  Are you glad I didn’t talk about my keyboard?”

I laughed and gave him a hug, and he was very pleased with himself.

Oh Aaron, you do have a way of talking something to death even when you’re not talking about it.  Imagine if you HAD talked about your keyboard!!