Apparently it Does Matter

In the early morning, when C is leaving the house to meet the bus, I say after him, "Bye, sweetheart. I love you. Have a good day."

C always grunts back. That's an almost 13 year old for you.

This morning was my early morning at work and my husband was at home to get the kids off. Apparently, as C left the house, my husband said to him, "See ya."

C stopped, turned around and said, "Is that all you are going to say?"

My husband reports that he looked at C somewhat quizzically.

C told him, "Mom says, 'I love you,' and 'Have a good day,' to me."

My husband was somewhat taken aback and didn't respond quickly, during which time C said, "Okay, then, bye," and left.

I'll take parenting validation where I can - and I just did.