Little Things

I picked up the boys after school today and Jackson couldn't wait to get into his bookbag. He quickly retrieved a candy cane and began to devour it. I asked him, "Jackson who gave you that candy cane?" "Mrs. Fulk" was his quick (and no doubt accurate response). Little things like that inflate my hope. He's meaningfully answering questions about what happened at school which for him is a big step!

Tonight, he also attended the basketball end of season "party". He has been attending some practices and the home games for the 6th grade team. This has been with the help of Micheal, an incredible teenager who supports him and shoots hoops with him. Tonight, he and Micheal walked into the building for the team celebration, and I watched my anxious son be soothed by this too cool young man; so naturally and effortlessly. Within a few minutes, I texted Micheal to be sure all was well--his simple response, "Yep, he's eating pizza and ice cream". I was moved to tears as I saw his gentle and simple interactions with my son. I thanked God (& Michaels mother) for this gift, this little thing that means so much to me. I wonder again about the place God has put me in and am ever so thankful for it.

12+ Days of Christmas

This year, not unlike years in the past, Jackson has selected an obscure set of stuffed animals for Christmas (remember the Pirate Big Bird post?). This time, its a set of Winnie the Pooh characters he found on Ebay. Winnie, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore are decked out in rain gear and are very anxious to be added to Jackson's ridiculous collection of stuffed animals.

Jack is having a tough time with the waiting. Time is pretty abstract for him and when he gets this anxious the calendar means little. He had trouble falling asleep last night and was up early this morning asking anxiously, "Mommy, get up. Presents?" Well....we have another 2 weeks until Santa comes; and it's so hard for him to comprehend. "Be good" becomes vague and difficult to attain for him.

This afternoon, he looked again at the calendar (I stamped a green Christmas tree on the 25th) and began his litany: "Santa bring you raincoat pooh, raincoat tigger, raincoat piglet and raincoat eeyore". I honestly ignored him and hoped he would somehow, someway be distracted from this obsession. (He was eventually--giving up to watch YouTube). Later, as I'm at the fridge getting out the chicken for dinner I see it: All over the month of December, in intentionally formed letters:
RkOP Kpa rkOTcKrrkpoo

Translation (in case you need it):
raincoat pooh
raincoat tigger

I got lost somewhere in the middle there, but am confident of the message he was trying to convey. And what a wonder of Christmas it is for this child to be conveying a message in print; so intently, so purposefully. It's gift enough for me to tolerate the next two weeks of obsessing about when Santa is coming and exactly what Santa is expected to bring. So, when I'm frustrated beyond words, I'm going to look at that calendar and cherish the message there.

For those of you who might be wondering, yes, Santa has 3 of the 4 characters in hand, and we're confident the last one will arrive well ahead of the big day.