My Twice Baked Potato

We often laugh and tease that my son should live as a Royal.

He enjoys the softest of sheets covering an oversized King bed.  He is happiest when he is the first one into a freshly made bed and when the duvet has been ironed.  My TBP loves room service more than any child I know.  He loves the fact that a phone call is made and then within 20-30 minutes, egg and fruit with fresh orange juice is waiting for him.  When we leave the room and the beds are made and fresh towels are left, there is a visible sense of comfort.

I know that the comfort is party about the way his body addresses the sensory feedback around him…the smooth sheets, the fluffy towels, and the food that is completed without the usual cooking smells that accompany.  He is the first one to let you know when he notices any “discomfort” and will remind us that he is sensitive and likes a “neat and orderly space.”

If my son had it his way, he would live in a hotel…he doesn’t see or smell the cleaning that is done or knows the expense of such a weekend away.

“How much does it cost for us to come here?”

“It is a lot of money, but that is why we only stay for a few nights.”

He thinks for a few minutes, trying to categorize this information with what he already knows about our home and lifestyle.

“Are we rich?”

I wonder why he is asking this question?  I mean, we talk about not wasting food and the reasons why he doesn’t get new games and toys at Target unless he has his own money.  Maybe we should talk about it more.  Does he just needs to know that we are okay?  He doesn’t need to take on this worry at eight.

I put one hand flat on the table and another about two feet above in the air.  “See my hands…this hand shows no money and this one shows where a family has a LOT of money.”  He watches me with unexpected concentration and then asks, “Where are we?’

“I suppose that we are about in the middle.  Luckily, we have enough money where we can go to the grocery store and get what we need and sometimes we buy a few extras.  We have a home in a nice neighborhood and we have money for cars and the gas that fuels those cars.”

“Could our money run out?”

“Yes…I suppose that it could.  That is why we don’t go to expensive places every weekend and we make choices about what we buy.”  I continued to explain that we went to school and got well-paying jobs so that money wasn’t constantly on our minds.

“When I grow up, I want to be rich so that I can have nice clean rooms.  How much would a maid cost?”

This was the perfect time to share about the positives of education and responsibility.  I took full advantage of the discussion since we have been focusing on both of these subjects! He seemed to understand the whole “work hard, play hard” concept…although he really grabbed onto the play hard part!

By the way…Here are a few pictures from our weekend.  Our own little Royal loved it!