Tuesday, June 10, 2008

A Decade of Business

Jeffrey turned ten last Friday. For the first time he didn't have a party. It just didn't come together this year. On Thursday night we went all around getting him a new bike. Usually he inherits whatever Tim had last but this year he asked for a new one, and it was difficult to find the just-right in-between size. Still, on Friday at work I was feeling a little bad about the lack of a fuss over him. We sent some cookies to his classroom, and he had a baseball game that night, but I wanted to get him a little something else so I ran out at lunch and picked up some video games.

I was telling Bob about all of this, and he said: Does he have a watch? I said he has a sporty one that he wears sometimes. Bob got up and went off to some cabinet down the aisle, and came back with a box with a watch in it. He told me that it would need a battery, but that I could take it home for Jeffrey. It is a nice fancy-looking man's watch that says DFM 1989 -1999 GM on the face of it. DFM stands for Design for Manufacturing, an initiative that Bob was in charge of for years, they must have had some sort of celebration with watches in 1999.

Then I left it on my desk over the weekend. I put it in my computer bag on Monday night, but then never took it out and finally gave it to poor Jeff on Tuesday. We got a battery for it and punched another hole so it would fit.

Then Jeff said he would write a thank-you to Bob. I thought that was a fine idea and I got out some of the second-grade class project note cards that he usually uses for these things. Then my sweet Jeffrey became difficult and went and got a sheet of looseleaf paper. I was a bit perturbed at that but then I saw how he was writing it and realized that he must have learned how to write a business letter at school this year and so of course he was doing that kind.

Here's what he wrote, I think it's very nice:

5 comments:

~Amy said...

Awwww sweet. I loved the PS !!

Heather Leigh said...

I wore the watch when I wrote this. LOVE IT!

Anonymous said...

HI- This one was almost a tear-jerker. Our sweet little Jeff- writing a BUSINESS letter. I suppose he still likes to play "office". I was so surprised years ago to learn that both of your boys liked that. Tim must have been around Jeff's age when I saw him arranging the desk in Mary Beth's basement, and then lean back with his hands clasped behind his head, feet extended... as I thought 'Wow! A future Civil Servant!" love, Aunt Chris

~Amy said...

I saw Jeff at OES the other morning and I looked down at his wrist and sure enough...the watch! Sooo cute. By the way...you need to take a pic of Bob with your new camera and post it !!

Mindy said...

Amy,

I did take a picture of Bob when we went to a Tiger's Game last week (team building field trip) but I don't know if I should be posting someone's picture on the web without them knowing it. Maybe I'll print it out and show you, but perhaps it's better if you stay with your own image of Bob in your imagination. Kind of an "everybob." Or like Jenny Piccollo in the early seasons of Happy Days.