I am sure my son was surprised to get an immediate response to his text the other night letting me know that he was home. It was 2:00 a.m. after all. I was up, however, and wide awake, having awakened after only a couple hours of sleep. Not wanting to disturb my husband who would be getting up at 4:30, I had grabbed my phone and my book from my nightstand and, as quietly as I could, I had eased open our bedroom door and crept downstairs.
Our two cats, Benny and Penny, were curled up together on the recliner and didn't even bother to look up when I rudely turned on the light. I took a seat on the couch and wrapped myself in the warmth of the throw my sister had given us for Christmas. I alternated between reading my book and checking my phone, tracking my son's progress on Life360 as he drove home to Santa Barbara from LAX. At one point, he seemed to not be moving at all on 101. I assured myself it was a glitch in the app and not an indication that something had gone horribly wrong. Sure enough, a few minutes later he was shown to be making steady progress up the coast.
So, by the time my son texted me, I already knew he had safely made it home. I was happy, though, that he had thought to send a text, simply announcing, "Home!" I responded with a ❤ and decided that maybe it was now time to return to my bed and try to get a few hours of sleep.
My son may have been surprised his mother responded at 2:00 a.m., but he shouldn't have been. Making sure our kids are safe is just what mothers do.
