Matthew Monday: Texting with His Father

This past week we had a bit of a scare.  Thursday afternoon my wife comes up to where I’m working—I’m still teleworking from home—and asked if there was something wrong with her face.  She said she couldn’t close her left eye and her the left side of her lip was numb.  As I looked carefully her face did look ever so slightly twisted, and her right eye kept blinking.  Yes, there was something wrong.  I dropped everything, got her and Matthew in the car, dropped off Matthew at her mother’s, and drove to the Emergency Room. 

Well, with the coronavirus they just take one into the bowels of the hospital emergency section and any family is left to wait.  Let me just say that the worst possibility of the twisted face is a stroke.  That was my fear while I urgently got to the hospital.  My wife and I each had our phones and for the most part we were in communication through texting.  Through the course of the evening, after examinations, tests, CAT scans, it seemed the likely issue was not a stroke but Bell ’s palsy.  She was admitted because the CAT scans were not conclusive and had to do an MRI.  It was a full twenty-five or twenty-six hours later before she finally had a room available for her, and they did the MRI and thank God it was not a stroke. 

All this time Matthew was at his grandmother’s, and she let him use her phone, and he had become a texting demon.  I didn’t realize he could communicate and write like that.  This is when I tangibly could see that my son, six weeks away from his eleventh birthday, was not a kid any more.  He communicated like—well, not an adult, but certainly not a child.

So Saturday evening I was waiting outside the hospital waiting for my wife to get discharged—it was past visiting hours, and they didn’t allow me in—and my son decided to text me.  I’m going to reproduce the back and forth texts here.

Matthew: Dad what about church tomorrow

Me: St. Rita.

Matthew: Well what time

Me: What time do you want to go?

Matthew: 12:30  Is that fine

Me: Why so late?

Matthew: Cause idk what time I am wake up

Me: I’ll wake you up

Matthew: Mom said I am staying at grandmas for one last night

Now this through me for a loop.  I expected him home after two nights away.

Me: You are?  How come?

Matthew: We cause me and grandma think she need to be in peace so we are staying for one last night  And she agrees

OK, so now I’m getting a little cantankerous.  I know he wants to stay with his grandmother.  It’s fun for him to be away.  Plus I’m not going to let a child dictate when and where he sleeps over.

Me: Maybe we need your help to take care of mommy tonight

Matthew: What does she need

I punctuate my texts.  Obviously he’s picked up common place habits.  I can’t stand all those text abbreviations, and apparently he’s learned them.

Me: Someone has to put pillows under her head.  And take her temperature.

Well, yes, I am groping for a reason.

Matthew: Well idk

Me: OK.  I’ll ask mommy when she comes out.

Matthew: And she said she didn’t sleep much last night 

Pause

Matthew: Mom said I can stay  I just asked her again

Me: I have to ask her.  Not you.  *tongue-in-cheek emoji*

Matthew: You use emojis

Me: Not really.  Just this time

Matthew: Oh 

Pause

Matthew: And why do you have to ask her

Me: Because

Matthew: It cause you don’t believe me

Me: I believe you.  But I may have to try to change her mind

Matthew: Why

Me: Because

Matthew: Meany

Me: Cry baby

Matthew: You’re the cry baby cause your not letting me stay  An your making a big fuss about it

Me: I have to take to mommy about it

Matthew: Meany

Me: *smiling emoji*

Matthew: *rolling eyes emoji*  *clown emoji* *devil emoji*

Me: *laughing with tears emoji*

Matthew: Clown

Me: Hey now watch it.  Enough

Matthew: Fine *sad face emoji*

Pause

Matthew: I am go hang out with grandma  bye

Me: See you later tonight

Matthew: No

Me: *kiss with a heart emoji*

Matthew: Maybe a FaceTime

Me: I don’t FaceTime

Matthew: Oh  OK

OK, we spoke and I let him stay at his grandmother’s that last night.  I was mostly pulling his leg.  But he’s getting too clever and spunky for his own good.