It often happens that I have a "moment" with Jason or his sons. Sometimes it's a comment that could be easily lost, sometimes it's an attitude that's hard to put into words. These moments warm my heart and make us family. I have a feeling that these will be a regular feature here on the blog.
On Tuesday, I had three great "Wells boys moments." Here they are in chronological order.
One:
Jason and I went to Chili's for lunch. (I had the Caribbean Salad with grilled chicken ordered well done. My chicken came out plain, which is to say it looked boiled instead of grilled, and when the manager came out to ask if they could fix it, she told us they don't even have a grill! It's just a conveyor-belt heat machine! That's what's wrong with my grilled chicken! It isn't grilled!!)
Anyway. Jason had texted me earlier with "I have things to tell you." Uh oh. That's never good, right? So here we are at Chili's.
me: Okay, what do you need to tell me?
J: Oh, are you ready for that?
me: Yes, let's get it out of the way. It's making me really nervous.
J: Okay. Well...1. I love you. [He pauses for several seconds.] 2. You're gorgeous. [He pauses again while my head is screaming, "C'mon, man! Say it already!!"] 3. I really like how you stuck up for your friend [via this post]. I like that we could share our opinions last night and that you didn't back down from taking her side.
[long pause, then I finally raise my eyebrows while he smiles at me]
me: That's it? I mean, that's great, but is that it?
J: Yeah, that's it.
I mean, he's proud of who I am, and he tells me about it, and he says it while he's looking into my eyes. : )
Two:
The four of us were in the truck on our way home from school and work.
Alex (8 years old): What are we having for dinner tomorrow night?
me: Spaghetti.
Ethen (12 years old): Yessssss! I call making it!!
Ethen does not love to cook. He's usually in his room or playing outside while I'm making dinner. But I taught him how to make spaghetti a few months ago. And now he calls making it. : )
Ethen made the spaghetti last night while I cooked a few vegetables. He added extra oregano plus a bay leaf to the already-seasoned sauce ("Extra seasoning never hurt, right?" And then my line: "It's your sauce...I don't think cumin will be good in there though."), and he even wanted to whip up some garlic bread. AND, when J and Alex were shooting hoops outside, Ethen stayed in the kitchen to finish dinner. On his own accord. : )
Three:
As soon as we get home on a schoolnight, Jason and I change out of our work clothes and Alex starts unpacking his backpack at the kitchen table. We usually start with spelling homework (because he always has spelling homework), and it's usually after J goes in the kitchen and says, "Alright, Homey, let's get started on this spelling." And sometimes J helps him and sometimes I help him just depending on who gets there first and how it works out.
But on Tuesday as I was finishing in our room and even though J was in the kitchen, Alex hollered out to me in the sing-song voice I often use (that itself was so heartwarming), "Ohhh Aaaaaaangellllllaaaaa! It's tiiiime for spellllllliiiiing!!!!!"
He wanted to do his homework with me.
He wanted to do his homework with me. : )
iPhone photo by J, February 14, 2014
I tell you what, these Wells boys are pretty great.
