Grandchildren...Oh God....let me absorb this precious time and please dont let it pass too quickly. My little guy spent the night with me. I have several beds in the house....but no...he asks...he insists... on sleeping "together" on the couch. He says, "Remember, Gramahuny, you hafta lay down first and then I squeeze in between the cracks." The cracks?
We nestle in, time for sleep.....and he says "lets talk about tomorrow".....so we talk. The talk doesnt have to be about tomorrow.....it is his way of beginning the conversation. I pray he never changes.....that he will always want to talk...to share his ideas and to listen to mine.
The "talk about tomorrow" ends and he states that two things help him go to sleep...movies and stories. He chooses Rudyard Kipling's "Jungle Book"...NOT the children's version....but the "no pictures" , "full of words" version. The very special experience of reading at night, by the light of a flashlight....is cuddling close and being put to sleep with the rhythm of words expressed through a gifted author. Magical and comforting...all at once.
He suddenly jumps down from the couch, kneels at its side. His head against the cushion, hands folded...he prays "God, give me good dreams tonight." He looks up at me and says "I will pray about being Superman tomorrow."
Will he remember spending the night with Gramahuny, reading by flashlight, cuddling on the couch, long talks in the dark? Probably not. But, possibly his heart is just a little bit more padded with the security of being loved by someone who thinks the sun rises and sets on him. I know I wont forget.
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