A night out...

I went to the symphony last night. It was a delightful, relaxing evening.

Sitting on one side of me was a boy, probably about nine or ten. Next to him was a woman, probably his mother – maybe his grandmother. I know better then to jump to conclusions.

About twenty minutes in, the boy gave a completely silent, but much exaggerated yawn and did a little fidgeting. The woman snapped her head around to look at him.

I was expecting an equally silent, but furious “shushing” gesture or some kind of admonishment. Instead, she smiled at him in an incredibly sweet loving and understanding way. Honestly, it was so obvious to me, a total stranger, how much she loved this boy. It took my breath away. She was still putting him on notice that he needed to settle down. But in her look was the complete understanding of what it was to be a nine-year-old boy having to try to sit still through a concert, and how much she loved him for who he was.

Such a simple, beautiful gesture reminded me that the underlying message of unconditional love is the most important thing we can communicate to our kids. I want my kids to know that they can turn to me for love, even in a moment of chaos or anger and find it instantly. Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony was lovely, but that mother’s smile is a lesson I’ll remember forever.