"You and Me"

Ryan... my daughter's oldest son. What a sweet boy. He makes me feel like someone special when I see him. No matter where we are, he smiles at me and runs and always gives me a big hug and kiss. He is one of my very special blessings. A couple of weeks after I had my back surgery, while my girlfriend Ann was taking care of me, my daughter called asking if we could watch Ryan as she had school and her husband was in Grand Rapids for work. Ryan was running a temperature and couldn't go to daycare. Since he is 3 1/2 and very easy to take care of, Ann and I said that would be fine. We ended up watching him for two days. He stayed the night one night and during that time, he acquired one of my stuffed animals, a duck, since he left his dog, Bailey, at home.

He brought the duck home, and the next day, he had to bring the duck, which he thoughtfully named "you and me," his doggie, "Bailey," "Laura" the elephant, which by the way he acquired from my house in 2006, and "Alex" the bear. While he was with me, he let me know that he was going to leave Laura and Alex with me, and he would take home Bailey, which by the way is his favorite and most cherished toy, and "you and me," or "Grandma Bailey and me" if he tells someone else the duck's name. When his dad picked him up that evening, he was adament that he leave Laura and Alex; however, his dad grabbed Alex and brought him home because he wasn't sure Ryan really wanted to leave him.

However, the next time my daughter's family came over, Ryan brought me Alex the bear to keep. He wanted to share his toys with me, which I feel is wonderful for a 3 1/2 year old to even want to do. And, how special it made me feel when Ryan named the duck, "You and Me." Ryan, you are a blessing from above.