Big Like Granddad

I dropped this guy off at my parents' house this morning so that I could go work out and to the grocery store.  Soren would gladly live at Gran and Granddad's house.  He asks every time we go over there if he's going to spend the night.  Sometimes he does, but not today.  He wants to know if he gets to stay for a 'really long time' or 'just a little time'.  I told him that he gets to stay all day today and Granddad will bring him home later.  That made him very happy.  Kieran spent the morning with them, too, but I picked him up at nap time and brought him home.  He's asleep.  I got to shower and even put my makeup on ALL BY MYSELF.  Now, I'm writing, drinking a beer (so much for the workout) and just enjoying the  fabulous peace and quiet.

All that being said, I miss my Soren.  This house is so empty and quiet without him.  When he's not here, no one tells me the dreams they had at nap time.  This is something I've come to anticipate every time he wakes up.  This morning, before he even said good morning, he immediately launched into, 'Mommy, I dreamed about a water park.  There were slides and we went down very, very fast.  And there was a robot, but not a scary, blue robot.  It was a green robot and he was dancing.'  Are all blue robots scary?  'I don't know.'  Do all green robots dance?  'Sure.'

The coolest thing about Soren is the way he thinks.  On the way to Gran and Granddad's he said, 'Mommy, I want to go to outer space.  I wish our car could turn into a rocket so we could go shooting up into outer space.'  Well, I wish that, too.  'Do they make rocket cars?'  No, unfortunately, they don't.  Maybe you could invent one!  'Yes, I think I could!'

When I finished my grocery shopping and gassed up the SUV (which, when I was single, I swore I would never drive) I went back to my parents to get Kieran.  The first thing Soren said to me was, 'Oh, why are YOU back??' with a very irritated little voice.  I reminded him that I was just there to pick up Kieran and that he gets to stay all day.  Nice to see you, too!  'Oh, yeah!  Okay, Mommy!  We found a bird's nest and it has EGGS in it!  And we had strawberries and peanuts and we threw the shells on the deck!'

Then he and Granddad were off to vacuum the deck.  Yes, when I left, Soren was using the little hand vac to suck up peanut shells.  They pretty much let him do just about anything.  My dad says he likes to say, 'Yes.'

I remember being that excited to see my grandparents.  My mom's mom and I were very close and I never wanted to leave her house when it was time to go home.  It's not that I didn't love my parents.  It's just that everything was so wonderful at Granny's house.  It was different enough to be interesting, but similar enough to feel like home.   Not to mention that she pretty much treated me like I was her favorite person on the planet.  Kids know when people really want to be with them.  She really did.  She took me everywhere she went.  We visited her sisters.  She took me swimming at her YMCA.  We went to church and out to dinner.  She taught me how cross stitch.  She patiently answered any and every question I had, and I had a lot.  She told me all of her stories over and over again.  I still know them.  And, when I wasn't at her house, she let me call her anytime I wanted to.  She made me feel important.  She made me feel beautiful and smart.  What's better than that?  I though she was beautiful and smart.  She passed away 6 years ago and I really miss her.  She would have loved my boys.

Now that Soren has that kind of a relationship with my parents, I am so very happy.  He loves them both, but right now, it's all about Granddad.  It makes perfect sense.  My mom is busy with Kieran, who still needs constant supervision.  So, Granddad is the one who plays with Soren.  Granddad knows what smart little boys like to do, because he used to be one.  He has the energy of a much younger man and is willing to play all day.  No wonder Soren wants to be there!  When Soren talks about getting big and strong, he says, 'I want to be as big as my Granddad!'  My dad is 6'3", and is the tallest man in Soren's life.  Also, my dad has a larger-than-life personality and loves being weird and silly.  I think he had children just so he could act like one as much as possible.  Just a theory.
Either way, it brings me so much joy to see my boys and my parents really enjoying each other.