Morning "goodbye" Routine

So, I've told you all about my Phase Seven wake up routine before. But there's another morning routine that we have around here. It's the "saying goodbye to Daddy" routine. Actually, any time either of us leave the house to head to a meeting or run a quick errand, we always have to go through the goodbye routine. It goes something like this:

1) Daddy goes around to every person in the house (usually at the breakfast table) and hugs and kisses them sweetly.

2) Daddy grabs his lunch, puts on his coat, and heads out the door.

3) Daddy starts the car and begins pulling out of the drive way.

4) Brighton comes running SCREAMING out of the house (usually in his PJs and some times half-naked) running all the way down the driveway (and sometimes into the street) begging for one last kiss and hug.

We always anticipate #4. It's inevitable. Even when we attempt to divert his attention, it comes. So the best thing we can do is make sure he has some clothing on and walk him to the basement door so he can watch Daddy back out of the driveway.

Lately it's become even more endearing as Brighton is growing a larger 3-year-old vocabulary so that he can express more of what he feels. He'll tell us how much he loves us and how he can't wait until we get home... and sometimes he'll even plead his case on why he should be able to go to work with Daddy. This morning, however, the last thing he said before Daddy backed out of the driveway was:

"When you's dead I'll miss you!"

And let me say, that's one thing you really don't want to hear just before you back out of the driveway.