Lanham

Spending time at my sister's house this Thanksgiving, Lanham was the biggest draw. He was in the driveway when my brother-in-law and I pulled up, his face all bright and alive. I try to remember to be childlike, but he's the natural. We played with trains and animals and farm carts, took bites together at dinner, watched dinosaur movies and giggled over absolutely nothing. At one point in the meal, he got all serious-



"Aunt Magma..." (he gives the best nicknames)
"Hum?"
"I'm happy to see you."
(melt onto the floor) "Thank you Lanham! I'm happy to see you too. I was really looking forward to it."
"Me too. I ran from school." (his school is 10 miles away)

When he threw a fit about getting ready for bed, I watched his mom and dad handle it with clear heads- firm but loving. As a reward for his apology, he got to sit on the couch with me and watch the news, drinking juice. I could feel his little head on my shoulder and even felt touched when he turned to wipe his snotty, teared-up face on my skin. He asked me to read my book to him (Reader's Digest).

"What's that tractor doing?"
"Farming organics." (no, really, it was)

We have a date tomorrow morning to play trains again and he said he'd get me up... at 6am. I'm looking forward to it.