The boys were so happy this morning when I got to their house and we buckled up in the car and Owen insisted I crawl in between the car seats and sit in back with him and so I did and we went to Costco and had tasty treats of hummus and chicken salad but then the shit hit the fan, the pooch was completely screwed when Owen discovered, in the back of the van, one of his Christmas presents.
Oh Lord. There was weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth and Lily had to completely rewrite the mythology of Santa Claus and how he works and in the middle of it all, I heard Mr. Moon's voice and somehow I had purse-Face Timed him and so there he was in the middle of it all, the wailing and weeping and gnashing of teeth, and Gibson beamed like a gentle sun, unmoved and undisturbed by his brother's sorrow and pain.
It's always an adventure.
We finally got Owen to calm down a little bit and right next door to the restaurant where we wanted to eat our lunch, there is the best Goodwill Bookstore in the entire world. They also sell some toys and so we took Owen and Gibson in there and we let Owen pick out a toy and he picked out a Lincoln Log farm set which charmed my heart and he was happy again.
We had our lunch and Gibson did his imitation of a baby bird, his beak wide open to any morsel or tidbit that we could offer, a bean, a tiny piece of chicken, a tomato, a torn-off piece of tortilla, some applesauce. He almost scored a tiny cup of hot sauce but we saved the day, we got it away from him right before he could bring it to his mouth and Lily licked his fingers clean.
When it was time to go, Owen pushed his highchair over to where they go but couldn't quite get it into the proper position and a man helped him. Owen told him thanks and then he said, "I a little small."
Really. He said that. He wanted to show everyone his Lincoln Logs and I, with my grandmother heart, wished that he could have. That every one in that restaurant could have admired and discussed those Lincoln Logs with him. But no, that is not the way things are done, and we left and went home and we built a Lincoln Log farm and he got out his farm- and woodland-animals and his dinosaurs and the cows were corralled together, the horse and the bear shared space. And Gibson chewed on the Lincoln Logs which generations of babies have done and all was well.
Later, after Gibson had gone down for a nap, I talked Owen into letting me read him a book.
It was Banjo Granny, a book that Vergil and Jessie had gotten him and it's about a banjo-playing grandmother who is trying to get to her grandson who is named...Owen and we stretched across his parent's big bed and he laid on my back while I read to him and it felt like I had done that a million times before, read on a bed on my belly with a child on my back because I have and he actually listened to the story and he hugged me and hugged me so fiercely as I read to him. I truly think the story made sense to him- a grandmother's love and a little boy who is waiting to see that loving grandmother and finally, when he was hugging me so hard I thought he might leave marks, he said, "You the BEST sister in the whole world!" which cracked me up so much.
Oh, that boy. That boy, that boy, that precious boy.
And we talked about the book and how the grandmother had crossed a river and a mountain and a desert because she loved that Owen boy so much with her grandmother heart which was set on seeing him. And he knew. He knew exactly what that meant.
And part of me thinks, well, I have done my job on this earth. I will never learn to play the banjo and I will never be a doctor or a lawyer or The Secretary of State or a win The Miss America contest or the Nobel Peace Prize or even the Pillsbury Bake-Off but my three-year old grandson knows that his grandmother would cross a river, a mountain, a desert because her grandmother heart was set on seeing him.
And okay, he did tell me to stop dancing in the Costco which I was doing behind Lily's back because I know it would have embarrassed her as it so obviously embarrasses her son. But that's okay. I understand. Who in this world wants to see his grandmother dance in the Costco?
The Christmas present which Owen spied is in a closet in my house now and Santa is going to come and get it and take it to his workshop and fix it up and wrap it and put it under the tree on Christmas for Owen and that's just the way it is. And until then, there are Lincoln Logs to play with and his father will build him a farm house with them and they will construct corrals for the donkey and the Tyrannosaurus Rex and the pigs and the cows and the horses and the hippos and the bears. And Gibson will chew on everything he can get his hands on and when he is sleepy, he will lay back in my arms and drink a bottle and Owen will tell me to go put him in his crib so that he and I can play.
"What you want to do today?" he asks all the time. Even if we've been playing together all day long.
This. This is what I want to do today. Exactly what we're doing. Anything at all with my beautiful boys.
My beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boys.
Truly this day sounds perfect. This, this is what its about, Owen on your back, loving you, knowing you are completely his. Gibson may already know it too!
ReplyDeleteWhat a gift for him to know that he is loved so much!
ReplyDeleteSweet, sweet, sweet.
ReplyDeleteI have four beautiful boys in Kentucky, and I miss them so, so much when I read about Owen and Gibson! I am glad you are with them so often. As grandmothers should-
ReplyDeleteYour boys ARE beautiful and so are you! I love that Owen chose Lincoln Logs, one of my very favorites.
ReplyDeleteSo what was the present he discovered in the back of the van?
Oh my.
ReplyDeleteI is a little small too.
Those boys, that Owen.
You are the best grandma sister ever and you are all so lucky to have each other and those beautiful beautiful boys.
Hopefully this incident didn't ruin his belief in Santa forever. Santa needs the parents to get the toys beforehand sometimes so he can wrap them and put them under the tree, right? Anyway to lulumarie, it was a flying Cars toy, not that it really flys. However it did cost $50 so I had to salvage it somehow. Love you mom for helping me today!
ReplyDeleteI love Gibson's little Buddhist presence in all your outings.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm dense, but why did Owen cry when he found the present? Was he upset because he wanted it right away, or because he somehow connected it with Santa not being real?
It's awesome that you accidentally dialed Mr Moon in the middle of all that.
Beauty all around.
ReplyDeleteWhen you write these posts, they are so immediate, that I can feel part of the scenes so clearly described... thank you so much for sharing, and that funny 'you are the best sister in the world'!!!!.. bless his darling heart.. and the John Lennon music to finish, was inspired... thank you so much for your blog today, a great way here to start my day! j
ReplyDeleteAnd now I desperately want to see my grandma dance in the middle of Costco! It makes me giggle just thinking about it!
ReplyDeleteAngella- I'm pretty sure that Gibson has a clue.
ReplyDeleteMama D- And he doesn't have to wait until Christmas to unwrap it.
Elizabeth- It so was. So sweet.
SJ- Well, not all grandmothers can. I am very, very lucky.
Lulumarie- Some car thing. Bless his little broken heart when he couldn't open it.
Mel- Haha! Sister-grandmother. Sounds polygamous.
Lily- I was impressed at your ability to come up with an explanation on the spot. You rock, Little Mama!
You are such a good mother. I swear.
Steve- He wanted to open that toy right that second. And yes, I think he was a little worried that he was going to be in trouble with Santa.
You're right about Gibson- he is a little Buddha. A laughing Buddha.
Denise- Amen.
Janzi- Well, I probably write more about my grandsons than I should. But it is my blog and I can do what I want. I'm glad you like them okay.
Sarah- My grandmother would NEVER have danced in Costco. But she might have thought about it.
I had Lincoln logs. Those are cool. Owen is funny. Was he upset because he realized Santa wasn't real? I suffered alone with my discovery of that.
ReplyDeleteMan oh man, Owen is an awesome little dude, and I am sorry you had Santa problems as well. Owen and Kyle seem so similar to me, and I think they would have just have a blast together. And I also think you and I would be laughing a lot at the things they would say. You are one terrific grandmother, and keep up the great work.
ReplyDeleteThis post has me weeping because I also have a beautiful little boy that I love so much I would climb mountains, cross oceans and deserts for.
ReplyDeleteGrandchildren make the world a better place.