My Friend Grace

Today I'm frustrated because I had an epic Mommy fail.

A Friday fail.

A FlaVorIce fiasco.

By now you're probably thinking Oh, no, what happened?

Well, here's the backstory.

It was last night, as Joshua was headed back to Marching Band practice, when he mentioned that he needed to put twenty of these FlaVorIce in the freezer because he wanted to surprise his French Horn section with a treat at break on Friday morning. I told him to go on the practice, that I'd do it for him. And we both went on our way, never giving it a second thought.

This morning at o'dark hundred, as Joshua was getting ready for Marching Band, he asked if I could help him get those frozen treats into an insulated carrier ... 

and that's when I froze. 

I went numb, actually, and my heart sank. He must have noticed, because he added, "you did put them in the freezer last night, right?" 

I was frozen, but they weren't.

I'd failed. Big time.

And it was a time when failure didn't feel like an option.

Nor did it feel like a first attempt in learning as seen on these cute little minis that keep popping up on Pinterest.

Click for source and to download.

So my brain kicks into problem-solving mode.

When did he need them by?

Would they freeze in time?

If not, where could I buy some frozen ones?

Surely I could sneak them up to the school.

But he shrugged it off, hugged me, and told me not to worry about it, that he could do it next Friday. When I checked the calendar, there wasn't a practice scheduled for that day. so I suggested Monday. Surely they'd be sufficiently frozen by Monday! But he said no, that wouldn't work. Why not? I pushed.

Joshua: Because it's not alliteration.

Me: Wait, what?

Joshua: Alliteration.

Me: You've lost me.

Joshua: Like Watermelon Wednesday. This was going to be Friday Freezer Pops. It's okay, mom. It's fine.

And I started to cry. 

I'd let my boy down, in a big way, and he was comforting me with a gentle reminder about my friend Grace. I was beating myself up for forgetting and he was forgiving me, no questions asked. I was trying to make it better, and he was telling me that it's okay.

Forgiveness on a Friday; how's that for alliteration? 

When John got back from dropping him off, I asked if Joshua was as upset about the freezer pops as I was, and he said no. There's a part of me that will always feel frustration that I foiled Joshua's plan to treat his section to a FlaVorIce at break. But the bigger part of me is grateful for and blessed by his forgiveness and grace.

When's the last time you got a visit from your friend Grace?