Note: This post was originally a speech delivered at Toastmasters in October 2013.
If you have a child, then you’ll understand where I’m coming from when I say that my son Alex is the greatest, best looking, smartest, most creative kid.
Alex is 6. When I asked him what I should talk about at my first Toastmasters speech, he said I should say I have a son, so that makes me a mom….But I should probably add a few things to make it more interesting. I’ll try to take his advice.
This kid has always made me worry.
When Alex was two, the director of his daycare called. She explained that Alex might be having seizures. He was really good at pretending to be a dinosaur. So good that he could maintain his focus for 15 minutes. You couldn’t get his attention, even if you pinched him. This could be a sign of petit mal seizures.
So we took him to a pediatric neurologist, who took one look at him and said, No, he’s just a good actor. At two.
Perhaps I just worry too much.
I like to think of myself as a pretty creative parent when the need arises. One night Alex asked me to tell him a bedtime story. So I made one up on the spot:
“Once upon a time there was a little boy named Malexander.”
“That’s me!”
“Malexander’s mommy loved him very much, but she couldn’t be with him all the time. She missed him when she wasn’t with him, and he missed her. But he always had a part of her with him in his heart.”
“That’s not a very good story.”
“Okay, Alex, you tell me a story.”
“Once upon a time there was a little boy named Malexander. Malexander’s mommy took him to McDonald’s, where he got to play and have fun. The end.”
I guess I still have a lot to learn about storytelling.
Recently Alex asked me to sing him a song. “You Are My Sunshine” has always been one of his favorites. I started singing, and as I sang the second verse…
The other night dear As I lay sleeping I dreamed I held you in my arms. When I awoke dear I found you’d left me And I hung my head and cried
…I heard Alex sniffling. I asked him what was wrong, and he said, “Mommy, I would never leave you!”
I told you I have the greatest kid in the world.