I surprised my mom by arriving so early. It was a great feeling.
My nephew arrived shortly after I did. I got to show him and my sister in law a short funny video I made about my summer vacation. Both of them were in the video. Both loved it.
And so my day with Wyatt began. With little sleep, I was determined to keep my energy high all day. So we began by playing with foam numchucks. I asked if he wanted to fight as I swung them around frivolously. Being the "lover" that he is, he was hesitant at first but caught on real quick. We brought our combat outside where we took turns being the attacker and the attackED... Only to make it more interesting I decided to jump on his tiny plastic tricycle bike thing (the name of vehicle escapes me... and it's a miracle I could even fit any way) and ride speeding down the sidewalk as he swung the nunchucks my way. It was hilarious. Once that began to tire us out, and by us I mean me, we decided to head inside where my mom was cooking us breakfast.
Wyatt volunteered the information that green grapes are his favorite grapes and so he began to eat a bundle which I washed for him. By the time he was through he complained that his belly hurt. So I rubbed my hands vehemently together (Mr. Miagi, from the Karate Kid, style) and placed them on his stomach to heal the discomfort. When I finished, I asked "All better? "With a smirk he walked back to his chair, looked me dead in the eyes, and implored, " Are you crazy?!" This sent me into a fit of laughter to which he interrupted, "NO! Are you crazy?!" The harder I laughed the more he would ask. The funny thing for me is that I know that was all my brother Scott's dry sense of humor shining through my little nephew. Wyatt knew it too. He would join in on the uproarious laughter in between each interrogation.
After breakfast, we joined up with more family and friends and went Apple picking on a farm that is fifteen minutes away from my house. Surprisingly, I've never been there before. If I have, I don't remember it.
We arrived on this farm mid morning. It resided on top of an enormous hill which overlooked the rest of the valley. There was a thick fog the likes of which you would expect in "Sleepy Hollow". The sun was doing it's best to shine through and uncover the spectacular scene being held captive behind. It was both eery and breathtaking at the same time; a scene not short of what the best dreams are made out of.
After getting out of the car, activity one was walking over to pet the horse. You know I've never been horse back riding nor have I ever really payed attention to the majestic beauty of a horse. It might as well have been a unicorn I was petting the way I was in such awe.
Then we moved onto this little Village that was built for all the children to play in. It was so cute. The only problem was that apparently a bus had just let out a hoard of screaming children of all ages. And they were racing around every where. Thankfully Wyatt was more interested in apple picking anyway.
So we began picking apples. The orchard consisted of rows and rows of trees and too many incarnations of apples to count. I felt like I was in a story book. I was very calculated on which apples to choose until I realized I was being eaten alive by mosquitos. At that point it was a free for all. "Grab any apple to fill the damn bag."
Afterwards we sat and ate homemade doughnuts and drank fresh apple cider looking out over the orchard. It was very peaceful. I became tired and ready for a nap.
So when we got home Wyatt and I put on some cartoons and laid down to take a nap. I was the only one who fell asleep. Every once in a while I would look down at Wyatt who was sprawled out on the T.V. room floor to see if he had shut his eyes yet. Never happened. Finally after letting his uncle sleep for an hour he got up and gently whispered in my ear, "Uncle Frank. I'm just not tired."I was so touched that he had let me sleep for so long. At the same time I WAS STILL SO TIRED. I knew what I had to do. "GET UP!" So I put on a pot of coffee and got up.
It was late afternoon by this point and I was fighting to keep my energy high. My mom suggested we all head down to a little park on the river. I thought that was a great idea. So we did.
Once we got to the river I was surprised to be the only people enjoying the breathtaking view and the peace of mind that it offered. The only thing Wyatt wanted to do was through rocks in the river and so we did. I observed how happy it made him throwing each rock, a different size, into the water and watching the ripples that it created. I fought to be equally as happy by each rock I through in. The sun hung low over the river almost ready to set. The light that reflected off of the water was dazzling and hypnotic. My mom sat on a nearby bench and just relaxed with her two little dogs. I thought of what happiness is to me. I thought of what happiness is to Wyatt, my 3 year old nephew.
And so I picked up another rock and threw it into the river.
And then I picked up another rock...
And another...
And another.
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