I saw a real parent at Burger King

Years ago my son was born in the month of April-- right on schedule. Getting a kid to hatch in sync with future school enrollment periods takes work and planning. The man must be injected with an oyster-Viagra solution three times a day. The woman must eat lasagna and hang upside down for two hours during a full moon. She then has to stand on her right foot with her left leg slightly bent extending both arms outward from her sides at shoulder height—the Stork Position-- for 28.7 minutes. The man’s performance is paced by a clock and temperature readings.

The baby was born due to the labor of my wife with me in the background begging the doctor for a sedative. I was totally ignored through the entire birthing process and had to make do with a lint covered M&M I found in my pocket.

My son is athletic with a dry sense of humor which is a good thing. We Hudson’s are in need of a humor gene carrier and now we seem to have one. He embraces life with an iPod, has many friends and believes the sun comes up just for him. He is as healthy as a plow horse and at 17 believes fast food is best enjoyed without parents.

Moms and Dads work hard at building a kid. We lay a foundation to build on-- like Please and Thank You and why you flush the toilet after you use it. At 16 we lecture them about what time to come home---- and it is a lot earlier than you think young man.

Anything happening at midnight is bad and anything past 2:00 a.m. is probably illegal. After midnight the good adults are asleep and by 2:30 a.m. a person feels independent and may want to become a celebrity or a scuba diver-- right then. Parents never discuss how we know this.

I saw the essence of parenting recently while standing in line at a local Burger King. The place was packed and the line very long. After a ten minute wait a woman with a 12 year old son finally made it to the cashier. She tried to order a hamburger for herself and a hamburger and large fries for her son. Her son began to complain in a slurred voice. I then noticed he had Down syndrome. He thought he was going to get a hotdog which was unavailable and he stomped away from her and sat down at a nearby table. He did not understand.

He stared down at the floor, his small shoulders slumped. He was slowly deflating--- his head sinking lower into his shoulders. When you are different than everyone else and the world ignores you, you hope for small things and sometimes even those are kept from you.

The mother left the cashier and walked over to her son. She cupped his face in both her hands and said something to him. She kissed his nose, tickled his stomach and he giggled. She then stood up straight, walked again to the back of the line and with her hands I saw her wipe big wet tears from her eyes.

I was going to offer her my place but now her face was puffy, her mouth set hard by responsibility. I looked away. Sometimes parenting scrapes you raw and you need a moment.

When her husband comes home I hope he gives her a kiss and a surprise tickle so that she laughs, pulls away and playfully hits him on the shoulder. Her face will have a smile, her eyes will twinkle and for just a little while she will be a parent with no tears.