Written in May, 2023
My grandson, Liam, and I went to the Schuster Center to see the Broadway play Frozen. We sat in the very top row. I had the binoculars we had purchased the day before, my knitting and some cookies. Liam brought us each a package of Teddy Grahams and a packet of drink mix. I figured we could buy expensive water at intermission. Unfortunately Liam thought we were going to get water before the show. This caused a small meltdown where he sat on my lap sobbing “Mommy, I want my Mommy” into my shoulder for a very short time. Then he returned to his seat, grumped a little bit and continued watching the show. He didn’t quite grasp what a play was mostly because we were so far away. But the special affects were amazing and he loved specific parts-like where it went “shhhoooooosh!” And everything turned to ice.
(I visit the kids almost weekly and we go to the local Waffle House. On the way to the show I pointed out an IHOP and explained to Liam that they served pancakes instead of waffles. That was clearly where we would eat after the show.)
After the play we went out to eat at IHOP. Liam had finished his food and had gotten a little second wind. He was out of his seat and dancing and jumping around near our table simply full of joy. (The restaurant was for the most part empty.) While I was finishing up my meal two older women came in, one with a cane. They were seated at a table near Liam and me. As Liam was jumping around the woman with the cane said, “Excuse me young man, may I have some of that energy you have?” Without missing a beat, Liam stepped forward with one foot, extended his arm parallel to his extended leg, opened his hand toward the woman and said, “Pow!” (obviously to transfer some of his energy) It was priceless! The woman joyfully laughed out loud. Then she shared that she was recovering and regaining strength after a full year of chemotherapy. Hopefully the transfer of energy was successful and she left feeling just a tiny bit better than when she came in.
My Patio 