"I didn't have it. We went to the base!"
"You did? With your daddy?" I asked.
I knew June had been out of town that Monday, so I wasn't sure what the arrangements had been.
"Yes! I caught a sunfish!" he said.
"Wow, you did? That's awesome! Did Rose catch a fish too?"
"No, she didn't catch any. Do you know the bad thing about sunfish? They eat other fishes' eggs, then there aren't so many fish," he said.
"Wow, I didn't know that, Wes." I said.
"Dad won a cake contest! He made your birthday cake."
"Really? The almond sheet cake he brought for my party, he made another one? I know he said it was a new recipe. I'm not surprised he won, that cake was delicious," I said, my tastebuds watering at the memory.
"You can get that bike out of your garage, because I can ride a two-wheel bike!"
"You can? You learned to ride a big bike all by yourself?" I asked.
"Yep!"
"Oh boy, that's great! That bike that we got from a garage sale might need some work, I'll make sure Silly Grandpa fixes it so you can ride it at our house."
This little conversation with Wes made me happy on so many levels.
First, the fact that he was so happy he caught a fish. I had a little boy named Caleb (Wes' daddy) that would have felt the same.
Second, the fact that he was so proud of his daddy winning the cake contest. I was proud of his daddy too, and this was the first I had heard about a cake contest.
I later learned that this had been a planned "team building" day with his co-workers, and Caleb had been in charge of setting up some games and activities and planning the lunch.
Since the ponds out at the Smoky Hill ANG Range are low on catfish right now, the traditional "fishnic" where they would fry their mornings' catch changed to grilled burgers with French fries and onion rings. The cake contest ensured a variety of desserts.
With June out of town that Monday and the kids out of school on an in-service day, Caleb's childcare options were in Wichita, which would require an hour of driving there and back before he ever started the hour's drive to work, so he just took them to work for the team building day, and by Wes' account, they had a great time, which made me happy.
The third reason I was happy for this little conversation was hearing Wes' pride in telling me he could ride his two-wheel bike all by himself.
But the main thing I was thankful for was I could understand him! Wes has trouble saying his "S" and "R" sounds, among others, so he has been in speech therapy for over a year, and he's made so much progress.
A few years ago, when I watched both of the kids on my one day a week, Rose would frequently "translate" for me if I didn't understand what Wes was saying.
Last year, when Rose went to kindergarten and Wes and I were on our own, I had some struggles. One time he was telling me a story about a guy who was invisible. I don't remember how Wes was pronouncing "invisible," but I just couldn't get it. But Wes has gotten good at giving alternate descriptions. Finally, he said, "You can't see him." Oh! Invisible!
Other times, however, I haven't been able to understand a certain word and he'd say, "Oh just forget it." That broke my heart. I want to know what's going on in that little brain of his. I don't want him to give up on telling stories because he's afraid he won't be understood.
So, I am thankful that Caleb takes Wes to his speech class in Newton each week, even though it is horribly inconvenient. After his morning session, Caleb drives Wes to Wichita so Grandma Donna can watch him, then Caleb drives to Salina to his job at the Smoky Hill ANG Range.
I'm also thankful that I get this time with Wes. Since Rose was born six years ago, Dave has arranged our work schedules so I can have a day off from our lawn business to spend with my grandkids. It's been wonderful to see them on a regular basis, and I can't believe it has gone so fast. Grandkids grow in hyper-speed. I'm grateful to catch a glimpse.
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| Wes making a wish at Botanica on one of our days together. |
