The Boy's Got a Way with Words

Tuesday afternoon I was preparing for an overnight trip by myself to my dad's, four hours away, so I could attend a funeral Wednesday morning. On the way to Youngstown, I would drop my brother-in-law at the airport, my generous brother-in-law who gave up his long weekend to work by his brother's side laying hardwood floors under our feet.

As I said my good-byes, Charlie's sweet face crumpled as he worked very hard not to let those tears fall, and my heart broke in two. "Oh, Charlie, buddy, I'll be back tomorrow," I offered, "that's not so long."

And he said, "Oh, I'm not sad that you're leaving. I'm sad that Uncle Steve is going."

Alrighty then. I guess I'll just mosey on outta here and hope someone notices I'm gone.

Later that night, I spoke on the phone with him just before bedtime, and again I heard him trying to keep himself from crying and failing miserably. "It's not that I miss you," he explained between the sobs, "I miss Uncle Steve."

Um, yes, so you've said.

"He's just so....so...."

Funny? Silly? Fun? Hilarious? I'm trying to imagine just the word he's searching for...

"so....helpful."

Okay, nerd.

I missed him anyway.