March 22, 2005
A Little Boy's Love
Sometimes when you are responsible for three little boys day in and day out, you just need a quick nap. So thought my wife as she stretched out on the bed. But after a moment she heard Eli's voice just outside our bedroom. "I love you. I love you so so so so much." Her mother's heart filled with tenderness, and she rose from the bed and went into the hallway to give her thoughtful little boy a hug.
And there she found him, sitting on the floor, gazing with great affection at . . . his little blue blanket. "I love you, blankie. Mmmmmmmm-unnnh. Hug. Kiss. I love you." He hugged it tight and rubbed his cheek against it.
Then he noticed the woman who had labored for twelve grueling hours to bring him into the world, the woman who had nursed him for eighteen months, the woman who changed his diapers and tended his scrapes and cared for him during illnesses.
"Oh, hi Mom."
We're not sure whether to be honored when we get some shadow of the great love this boy has for his precious blankie, or offended.
Posted by Woodlief on March 22, 2005 at 08:44 AM
... that should "Jeff", not "Jef", damn keyboards ... yeah, that's it, blame the keyboard ...
Posted by: Jeff Brokaw at March 22, 2005 9:23 AM
OK, my first comment got lost in the ether. And my second one became first, and makes no sense at all. What I said was ...
Hahaha, sounds like my 3 year old, whose "mankie" is his favorite possession. But I can relate, I had a blanket at that age, and when I rubbed the satin binding with my fingers, everything was better.
This sounds like one of those stories you'll relive when you get old. Kids are good for that.
Posted by: Jeff Brokaw at March 22, 2005 9:26 AM
Be honored. Be very honored!
I used to tell my oldest son, when he was a toddler, "I Love You" in as many different ways as I could dream up. One of the phrases I used was "I have the greatest affection for you."
One day, when he was three, he awakened from a nap, during which a raging ear infection had managed to set in. Still, he crawled into my lap for a hug. "Mommy, I have the greatest infection for you." He didn't realize what he was saying, and the fact he was actually sick made the moment hilarious.
He's 25 and married now, but we still use this phrase to express our utter love for one another. By the way, he got his degree in linguistics!
Posted by: Katy Raymond at March 22, 2005 9:34 AM
Are you back for good, Tony? I hope so.
Posted by: Teem at March 22, 2005 11:18 AM
That's so funny about his blankie affirmation. Along the line of "I have the greatest infection..." is something my friend's 4-year-old son said when he got a doctor playset. He came up to his dad with the plastic thermometer and said, "Daddy, do you have a beaver?".
That was the word he used for a good two weeks, and we giggled ourselves silly over it. Later, I asked him if he'd had a beaver when he was sick, and he looked at me with utter seriousness and said, "Noooo. That's silly. I had a fever!
Posted by: gardenwife at March 22, 2005 4:15 PM
Woe betide me if, at beddy-bye time, I neglect to give a certain trio of stuffed animals a goodnight kiss!
Posted by: The Sanity Inspector at March 22, 2005 7:26 PM
*grin* Kids say the darnedest things, don't they?? Having recently acquired three delightful stepdaughters, I'm kept busy writing down the cute things they say in my PalmPilot. (I'm a pack-rat; I wouldn't want any of these gems to get lost.)
Just the other day, when almost-five-year-old Z. was wondering abou her upcoming birthday, I tried to explain the calendar to her, so that she'd have a better idea of when her birthday would be. Along the way, I happened to mention that her sister and her grandmother have the same birthday, February 6th.
Z. cheerfully replied, "That's called 'cinnamons'." (And what could I do but nod sagely and agree with her?)
respectfully,
Daniel in Brookline
Posted by: Daniel in Brookline at March 24, 2005 12:32 PM
