Precious Train Moments with Mama

“There’s the train!” he yells excitedly, squinting off into the distance.

The train rumbles into the station, and the doors slowly part. We hop aboard, take a seat, and our Sunday excursion has begun.

He points up and explains to me that the hand straps are there to hold onto so you don’t fall. This is something I told him a few weeks ago, and I’m proud that he has rememberd.

He chats the whole way, telling me what colour the seats are, pointing out the numbers he sees, and letting me know how many more stops we have to go. We only go a couple, so it’s easy to count.

Often, someone will be sitting across from us. They’ll be watching, and he’ll give them a sheepish smile, winning over his audience yet again.

It might only be a two-stop journey, but it’s become an important part of our week, and something I want to remember forever.

With the current state of petrol prices, who could blame us? The trains in Perth are free on Sundays, so it’s a no-brainer.

As soon as we get off at our destination, he cries for “More trains,” and becomes a little agitated until he realises we need to take the lift up to the concourse, and we’re off on our next adventure.

It’s a simple outing, all we do is go for a short stroll and buy a coffee. But because it’s Sunday, I treat myself to an iced coffee. I spoon off as much of the cream as I can before it hits the caffeine. He lets out a giggle of glee as I pass the spoon to him. Licking all the cream off, he looks at me with a satisfied smile and passes the spoon back.

We’ve developed an understanding, and he knows when I tell him it’s the last one, it’s time for Mama to have her turn and drink her coffee. He makes that last spoon of cream last as long as possible, slowly licking it as we walk back to the station.

I wipe cream from his chin, nose and forehead while we wait for the train, and he tells me what number platform we are on.

The train pulls in, we get back on and head home. As we get off at our stop, he waves to the train and says, “Bye train.” He’s sometimes a little upset that our outing is over, but then I remind him we’re going home to see Dada, and he starts chatting excitedly again.

While we were walking home from our last train journey, I reminded myself to enjoy each one of these trips because one day, not too far from now, he’ll decide that he doesn’t want to catch the train with his Mama anymore, and I’ll miss these moments.

Then, one afternoon this week, I asked him if he wanted to go for a walk. This is something we often do. He said, “No, I just want to stay home.”

I realised, it’s happening already. At the age of two, he’s already forming his own opinions and starting to realise that the things Mama loves to do aren’t always as fun for a little boy.

My heart broke a little as I was reminded how quickly he’s growing up, and how fast time is slipping by.

💙