Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Gibson, Mostly

I had such a good time with my Gibson today. Rarely in his life have I been able to spend time just with him and so it is a joy when I do get that time. He is a remarkable child and because he is a middle child, I think we take his remarkableness for granted sometimes. When the first child takes the first step or says the first word or makes the first joke, it is a moment of great importance. We try, of course, to give each and every child's first accomplishments the same attention but life is funny and we don't always.
But Gibson. Oh my.
The other day when we were in the Indian restaurant, I bent to pick up a piece of cantaloupe he'd dropped and he said, "No, Mer. Look. I holding it down!"
And he had his fork poised just so over the bit of fruit so that the shadow cast by the fork perfectly covered the cantaloupe and yes, he was holding it down with the fork shadow.
I am not sure I've ever met a child who was so good at playing and pretending by himself as this boy is. I've talked about this before- how he can take almost anything and entertain himself for great lengths of time, making up little scenarios with whatever he has to hand, providing dialogue and action.


Here he is using the Monopoly pieces to do just that. A little while later he added the houses and hotels and he played and played until finally he said, "That's enough."
And it was and we went out to swing. 
He is very social too. He loves to play what we call The Matching Game with me and he is generous with his praise and seems to enjoy it as much when I make a match as when he does. My across-the-street-neighbor came over for a little while when we were on the side porch swing and he was completely comfortable talking to her and telling her things. When she went to leave, he held his arms out to her and hugged her tightly. He is a charming boy. 
He wanted to take a bath and so I drew him one, adding some bubbling bath salts with lavender. He enjoyed that so much. 


When he was ready to get out, I used the hand shower to rinse the bubbles off of him and he loved it. I let the warm water run down his back and he kept saying, "That hits the spot!"
He gave me a bit of a make-over and then we went outside and when a train came, he wanted to come in because even though we both know that his fear of the train is highly exaggerated, he is still a bit worried about it and it IS loud and it IS close so I said, "No, let's watch it!" and we did. We sat on a chair and I held him and we had so much fun, watching the cars go by, those loud thundering iron cars, each one making its own different sound as it passes. 
When we did come in, he wanted to snuggle and this is another very fine thing about Gibson. He's about the snuggliest, cuddliest child you will ever meet. We got on my bed and pulled up the comforter around us and he molded himself to my body and we pulled the cover over our head so that it was dark and scary and wonderful and we pretended to sleep and we pretended to wake up and we freed our heads and then we did it all again. He wanted to watch Toy Story from my bed and he wanted me to watch it with him and so that's what we did but when his mama and his sister and his brother showed up he wanted us to hide under the cover and we did that too, giggling a bit as we held still, and I swear, I felt a little of that child-like delight in waiting to be discovered. 
And then it all changed after Owen found us and we hugged and kissed the mama, the brother, and then Maggie. 


I changed her on my bed and she peed before I had the new diaper on her and she peed so much that my sheets are in the dryer now and we all laughed at how much she was able to pee, this tiny girl, this wisp of a child and even her booties got soaked. 
Boppy came home and there were more hugs and more kisses and more cuddles and there was nursing and Magnolia spent a good five minutes looking around and letting us kiss her. Then she got the hiccups which distressed her and so there was more nursing. 

Such a good day. The weather was positively spring-like, warm and with those soft breezes that are both cool and balmy at the same time and I found a trillium, already coming up in the bed beneath the front-yard oak. I made a cheat-chili with canned beans and canned tomatoes and ground venison and Mr. Moon is back outside, working on a car and I'm going to make him the salad he loves with greens from the garden and the mandarin oranges that come from a can and sunflower seeds and cornbread to go with it all. I promised the boys they can spend the night on Friday. They haven't been getting enough time at Mer and Bop's lately and it's time. 

And here's a picture that Jessie sent me today of my other beloved grandson.


One day, soon enough, he will be old enough to spend the night at Mer's. Well, eventually. He's not yet even had a bottle so it will be awhile unless his mama spends the night with him. 
But if I know anything about time, it is that it flies by too quickly, too quickly by far, and that day will be here before I know it. 

But this day- this day I mostly spent with Gibson- is now right here, in this magical place we call the internet, and I can come back anytime that I want and remember it all. The bath, the games, the pirate pretend we played on the swing, the cuddles, the snuggles, the kisses. Like the fork shadow, I have held it down. 

It all just hit the spot, y'all. It really did. 

Love...Ms. Moon







18 comments:

  1. John Gray- It's a good one. Even my bizarrely tall husband enjoys it.

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  2. Just beautiful, this. It's a wonder to see those babies becoming ever more themselves, just as we have watched Owen and Gibson too. Magical.

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  3. Beautiful, Mary Moon. Thank you for taking us along. I teared up a little, reading about Gibson's ways.

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  4. What a darling boy that Gibson is. How tiny that Magnolia is. How incredibly precious that August is. Even I need nothing more.

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  5. You have such sweet a exceptional grandchildren! Gail

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  6. Like the fork shadow, I have held it down. How sublime is that and your post?

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  7. You're such a wonderful grandmother. And mother.

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  8. Each of those children holds their special place in your heart. And we all have been lucky enough to share that. We all love them and love them for the little details you share.

    You and I were somewhere together in my dream last night. And you gave me the biggest hug and it was wonderful. Thank you for that.

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  9. "That hits the spot!" He's so funny.

    This post hits the spot, too. :)

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  10. I have had the same experiences with my middle grandkids. Wilson, now 15, had an older sister who wasn't interested in army men and dirt, so he honed his own imagination. He used to tell me long involved stories about a town he invented, along with several residents. I (MawMaw) was lucky enough to be one of them, and I was famous for chocolate chip cookies, a mean kickball game, and hugs. I miss those days!

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  11. What a beautiful special day! Reading that hit the spot.

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  12. it is wonderful to spend time alone with a grandchild. wonderful to have them all at once but the time spent alone with each child is special. it's a good thing Gibson can entertain himself because as the middle child it will serve him well.

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  13. OK, I'm all caught up on the lives of Ms Mary Moon and her family.

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  14. Jo- We have babies everywhere!

    Angella- I can't wait for you to have these joys as well...

    jenny_o- He's a good one, that boy. And funny as can be.

    Maggie May- One of the blessings of grandmotherhood- it is easier to pay attention to the small moments when you have them around for such short periods of time.

    Gail- Well of course I think so. Thank you for agreeing!

    Elizabeth- It just struck me so hard when he did that. He is so aware. And yes, we hold it down with fork shadows when that is all we have.

    Mwa- Well, not the best by any means but I am who I am.

    Jill- You are welcome!!!!

    Steve Reed- He is so funny. He's grown so much since you met him.

    Catrina- That is precious!

    Denise- Thank you!

    Ellen Abbott- It's so true. And he is taking this whole baby sister thing completely in stride. I swear. He hasn't shown one sign of jealousy that I can see. And honey, I love you for keeping up with my life. I know it's difficult! I over-post.

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  15. Owen has so much to say and all of it as interesting as it gets but Gibson is so quiet and strong. Even in the pictures you can see there is the solidness about him and he is really thinking about things. Still waters run deep.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.