Every now and then I leave Willan with our babysitter and pick Grayson up from school so the two of us can have a little time alone together. It’s usually only an hour, but it’s precious. Grayson is a great kid who seems to get the raw end of my patience sometimes. Mainly that’s because Willan – being two – takes up so much of my energy. Anyway, not too long ago I made last-minute arrangements for Willan and stood outside Grayson’s school, waiting for the bell to ring. When he saw me standing there alone, he knew it was time for just the two of us and his whole face lit up. I crouched down to hug him and he knocked me right off my feet. That alone was worth the hour of babysitting.
We drove to our favourite coffee shop and I bought him a hot chocolate. He found us a table and started digging in his dinosaur backpack. Before I was settled into my chair, he had shrugged off his winter coat, opened up his pencil case and notebook, and started to write. The thing about hanging out with Grayson is that he doesn’t really feel the need to talk. In fact, some of the best times we have are just sitting together writing or drawing. Unless you’re telling stories or sharing a laugh, Grayson would rather disappear into the wilds of his own imagination, drawing up the storyboard for his next movie or writing a one-page newspaper to sell for an invisible dollar. I am happy just to sip my tea and watch him work.
I care what you think. I do so.