Just so Jeffrey

The boys have been out of school since December 18. I have enjoyed being able to spend this much relaxed time together as we've worked our way through the holidays and celebrations. I have been especially appreciating Jeffrey. I already know he won't be a cute little kid for much longer, and I want to cherish every moment with him while I can.

I was watching him and noticing the way he gets when he is super-excited about something that is coming up. He was like this of course right before Christmas, and I saw him doing it again yesterday as he anticipated his cousins coming over for ice skating and a game of nerf wars. He gets all jumpy and antsy, like he can't concentrate on anything other than what he's waiting for. Like he's just about to explode with the anticipation inside of him. I like to say he's all "bursty" with excitement, if only that were a real word.

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Yesterday he was outside with his dad and brother shoveling off the ice to get it ready for skating. It was very cold out at that time. When he came in all pink cheeked and shivery, he announced to me: "It's so cold out there I have booger-sicles!"

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Over the break he has been doing a lot of skating on the frozen lake behind our house. At first he was joined by his usual companion Jarod from down the street, but then a new boy starting coming out there, named Alex. I am friends with Alex's mother and we had been hoping that our sons would eventually form a friendship, so I tried to encourage it.

"Jeffrey, do you like spending time with Alex? He seems like such a nice boy, and I think he does well in school too, just like you!"

"Yeah, better than being BAD and STUPID like Jarod!"

Oops. There I was trying to be subtle and encouraging, only to be smacked back with blunt and derogatory. Of course I explained to Jeff that he shouldn't say that kind of thing out loud about anyone who is also his friend. Regardless of what he thinks is true.

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We went to Target and there was a bird flying around in the store. Jeffrey was enchanted with the idea of it. He saw it land on a rack of clothing and went to see how close he could get. This led to lots of speculation about pooping on the merchandise, what in the store would make good nesting material, and how on earth the employees would go about catching it. (Nets from the fishing dept?) He is so much fun to be with, wherever we are.

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A couple of nights ago the boys had been asleep for a while and I decided to see what was on television. Unfortunately, the last person to watch the thing had left the volume way up, so I was greeting with a blast of noise that lasted until I could stab the remote enough times to delete all those volume bars. A few moments later a sleepy eyed Jeffrey came shuffling down the stairs. I asked what he wanted and he said:

"May I use the restroom?"

I think that he had been dreaming about being in school, and was talking to me as if he was still there! I gave him permission and he went into the downstairs bathroom, and then came to me for a hug and then went on back up to bed.

***

Then this morning we were eating waffles and Jeffrey looked up at me and asked if I was nervous about going to my new job next week. I was touched that he was thinking about how I was feeling about the changes coming up, rather than just how it all would affect him. I tried to answer his question in a way that he could relate:

"Yes, I am nervous. I'm worried about being able to do the work, and having to learn so many new things, and meeting all the people there and whether they will like me."

We talked a bit more about how it was kind of like going to the first day of school, and then Jeffrey said:

"Maybe you can bring a bag of chips."

I wasn't sure what he was talking about now. I asked if he meant that eating the chips would make me more comfortable or something, and he explained:

"Everybody likes chips, so you could share them there, and make friends!"


I love this little guy so much that I could burst!