Broken Feelings

I play on a Tuesday night volleyball league at our rec center.  Tonight the kids had to come with me for an hour while Eric helped on a church cleanup project.  We packed carefully - two sippy cups, two cereal bags, two iPods, one Ninja Turtles movie, one "Interrupting Chicken" book - and set up camp in a far corner of the gym.  We've done this before.  If you need mommy, you must flatten yourself against the wall and make your way all the way around the gym to whatever court I'm on, but there's really no reason to need mommy.

I was playing on the far court and saw my baby making his way around.  He was whining.  I couldn't hear what he was saying, so I waved him away, back to camp.  He walked back.  Then he returned, whimpering.  I still couldn't make out what he was saying.  I waved him away again, firmly.  "Go," I said.  He slumped.  He walked halfway back and turned around, this time looking miserable.  He hung around the edges of the court, crying and looking at me.  When a bad return paused the game I ran to the sidelines and knelt down. "What?"

Through his sniffles, he said, "Mama, I - I peed in my underpants." 

Oh!  I just about cried.  I left the game immediately and scooped him up.  We went and scavenged around camp for a Cars pull-up I had thankfully never taken out of my bag.  I was apologizing the whole time to my sweet little boy that I neglected when it mattered most.  In the bathroom we took care of business and then I held his shoulders.  He looked into my eyes.  "I am so, so sorry," I said.

"Yeah, Mama, you hurted my feelings tonight," he said softly.  "You - you broke my feelings."

And at that point my feelings broke.  "Do you forgive me?"

"Yes," he said with a smile.  He put both arms around my neck and at that point I did not care if I ever made it back to the court again.