In Five Minutes

You know the song from Rent? Seasons of Love? All that talk about 525,600 minutes?

In the last five minutes, Ben has said to me, while "doing his homework:"

Mom. What's for dinner tomorrow night?

What about Friday night?

Mom, did you know that the music teacher at school never stops smiling? Too much botox. When he does stop smiling? A kitten dies.

What about Saturday night dinner?

What does suffix mean? No, I'm not suppose to know, you are. Didn't you graduate college?

Not to mention he has gone to the refrigerator three times, opened the doors and stared into it, hoping beyond hope that somehow a box of Ho Ho's will magically appear.

"How do you measure,measure a year? In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In 525,600 minutes - how do you measure a year in the life?"

How do I measure a year? In eye rolls, in timeouts, in allowances, in trips to the mall. In shoes outgrown, in acne cream, in phone calls, in chores undone.

But please don't remind me of the exact number of minutes... please.