My best friend is in from Israel, and I get to see her tonight. SQUEEEEEEEEEE!
Sorry for the screaming, but I haven't seen Rachel since she and her family moved there a little over a year ago. Her niece is getting married, and I'm spending Shabbos with them. I'm not normally Shabbos observant, but the one before a wedding is a special celebration for the bride. Rach asked if I could bring a few small kids toys with me for a game. Everyone sticks their hand in a bag, pulls out an item, and has to bestow a blessing upon the couple that incorporates the item. A fun idea, especially if the people involved have a wicked sense of humor when selecting the items. The non-kosher toy pig should be a riot.
This morning before I left for work, I went to scope out a few toys. To say that my daughter is not a morning person would be a gross understatement, and finding anything in her room on my own would require a map and a shovel, minimum. I took one look at Cady faceplanting on the couch, and moved on to Brandon's room. Sleepy Cady is fun for snuggling and planting smoochies on; not so much fun for getting intelligent information out of.
On to Brandon's room.
"Brandon, can I borrow a few of your toys?"
"What for?"
"Well, I'm spending tonight with Auntie Rachel, and we want to play a game with a few of them. Is that OK?"
"Yes."
I start to look at his toy bins. Brandon joins me, sees that I'm looking at his plastic animals, and starts to hand me one or two. It's then that he takes my breath away.
"You should take some of my stuffed animals. Here, take Norn, and...."
I will grant that Brandon has enough stuffed animals to fill out a section in Toys R' Us. He is, after all, mine, and at 40 years old I still think there's no such thing as too many stuffed animals. However, his stuffed animals are his most prized possessions, his very best friends, the subjects of the fantastic creative stories that he loves to build in his head. Perhaps more importantly, they are his comfort.
What he is handing me is not so much toys as his trust. He is sharing what he loves most, and having faith that I will care for them and return them.
I may never hear him say "I love you" without saying it first, but I will never forget that today he showed me, loudly and clearly.
As the aforementioned best friend in this entry, I can most definitely say that I'm glad I read this AFTER getting back to Israel and getting a modicum of sleep; there is only so much teary eyed, mush-balling (and yes, NOW it's a word)a girl can do. I love you, I love Brandon, and love that he was able to tell both of us, but his mommy much more, that others are penguin worthy. Oy...
ReplyDeleteAnd for the record, Cady does a mean mommy-impersonation it seems! Or is that an Auntie Rachel impersonation. I'll let you know when I wake up!
I love stuffed animals too. And collected them for years. I have over 300 now, and know all their names, their stories, and why I have them. I <3 my stuffed animals. And at 23, you can never have too many. Says the autistic one, anyway.
ReplyDeleteYou can never have too many, says the NT 40 year old :) I have no idea how many I have anymore, but I know their names, their stories, and why I have them. Several of them also "speak" and have their own fully developed personalities :)
DeleteI loved reading of Brandon's ability to share what he treasures. I see this in school. Always willing to share information or Roscoe or a kind word to a classmate. This is how I see him too. For the person who says you can never have too many stuffies,I welcome you to come visit my grown (23 year old daughter) who's collection is practically squeezing her out of her queen sized bed.. yet I am guilty of not letting a holiday of any sort go by without buying her one! Once when she was 5 and had literally hundreds littering her room, I removed a couple I thought she would never miss. She casually walked into her room and said "Do you know what I'd like? The walrus that grandma sent me" She KNEW!!!! I had to race downstairs and grab the bag of donate items before her head started spinning around. I have on occasion attempted to weed out a few but I always got busted. Luckily, I have nieces and nephews so things can go to other houses on "permanent loan". My 2 year old niece wound up with my ET doll from 1981 a few months ago and I am still trying to negotiate it back to my house!
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