Sweetness

I will tell you something- I know that August loves me but I also know that he IS Little Boppy and that he adores Big Boppy with a fierceness beyond compare. August isn't a cuddler with anyone but his mama and daddy for the most part. He will grudgingly allow hugs and kisses but he's not like Gibson who still asks for them or Owen, whom I find suddenly standing beside me, his arm around me, his head up to my chin. Or Maggie, either, who loves to squish her body against yours, obviously delighted beyond belief to be in your arms.
Nope. That's not August although when I ask him, "Are you my darling love?" he says, "Yes. I your darling love."
However, when Boppy enters the picture, August not only accepts being held, he leaps into his grandfather's lap.

This is how they looked when they were waiting for the mullet to finish being fried last night, both of them exhausted from a long day of work and play. Cuddled up and happy, watching TV, August holding the Wii steering wheel that he loves to play with. "Gibson use this," he says of it. And that makes it cool and desirable. Plus, it's a steering wheel. 

I just love watching this relationship between the small boy and the large grandfather. I can only imagine how safe and comfortable it must feel to the grandchildren to sit in their Boppy's lap. I loved and respected my grandfather deeply but I can't imagine snuggling in with him. He just wasn't that sort of man. And of course, I have absolutely no memory of ever sitting on my father's lap and the less said about any sort of physical contact between me and my stepfather, the better, so all of this is just a miracle to me, watching how loving my grandchildren's fathers are with them, how naturally they interact with their children, and how the children respond to that and to their grandfather and to me. It's like I always say- a dream come true that I never even imagined. 

It's a lovely Sunday here, warm and sunny and quiet in Lloyd and I am being lazy and enjoying the peace. Camellia is eyeing me patiently, wanting more cat food treats and Jack is watching her from half-closed eyes. The man is napping in his chair, having gotten up at 4:30 this morning to go duck hunting and I think I'll go hang out some laundry and maybe do some leisurely weeding, feeling the warm sun on my body and smelling the rich dirt of the garden, being worshipful.