T and I were hanging out together on the sofa just chatting…

“Grammy,” he said, “Callie knows how to count to one hundred!”  Obviously he was quite impressed with his sister’s huge accomplishment.  “Really!”, I replied.  “How about you?  How far can you count?”  Quickly he began, counting toward 20 with only a few hesitancies in the teens.  When he stopped at 19, I encouraged him forward, ” 20, 21, 22…”.  He picked it up and headed straight to 29.  With a little help again he raced through the 30’s.  We continued this journey until victoriously with a “high-five” he made it to 100!  “See”, I said, “YOU can count to 100.  All you need to learn is to count by 10’s…10, 20, 30, (etc.).  T,  you can count to 100 all by yourself!”.

Then in an instant, little T’s eyebrows raised up high, his eyes got very big.  His face got close to mine as he proclaimed, “NO GRAMMY!  I need my grandparents to help me!”  Then he wanted to get something, briefly leaving his spot on the sofa.  “Grammy, I’ll be back soon.  I want you to stay right here for 138 minutes!”

Inside I smiled deeply as those words rang out in my heart like the tolling of a big bell…”One hundred and thirty-eight minutes”.  In the course of a day, that is not really very long…less than 2 1/2 hours.  But in the mind of a four year old who just learned to count all the way to 100, this number was bigger than what he could yet reach.  It contained all the places he had yet to go!  And he wanted me, his Grammy, right beside him.

My blog is all about moments.  Each of us are gifted with minutes that can become moments which last a lifetime.  This is true for all of us, but I think especially true for children.  As the song goes, “It only takes a moment, to be loved your whole life long.”

T and his sisters are arriving today for a week together here in Montana.  I awoke before dawn this morning anticipating the moments.  Smiling now, 138 minutes is just around the corner once again!

nk