Some People Deserve a Little Special Attention

Continuing with my emotionally, weepy theme...

As previously mentioned, my in-laws are in town now. We weren't exactly sure when they would arrive or even exactly when they would get out the door and on the road. The drive from Colorado is 22-hours if driving with my husband, but much longer if driving with his parents. Apparently, they do things like stop to eat and stop to sleep in a hotel. Or two. And stop to pee instead of using...oh never mind, we won't go there.

Saturday night, they called and said they had just passed St. Louis and they would be to Jon's sister's late that night and planned to be at church on Sunday morning. I didn't want to tell everyone that Grandma and Grandpa were almost here just in case they stopped at a hotel or were too tired to come to church. I figured no one would be disappointed if they didn't make it to church because we didn't plan on seeing them until late Sunday night or Monday. I did, however, tell Gable and Gable and I decided to keep it a secret.

It was our little secret.

Gable got up early and headed to church with Jon. While the other boys and I were headed to church around 10, Gable called me on my cell.

This is when I got weepy.

He said that he had told Steve Nixon the secret, but not to worry because Steve was going to keep it a secret AND Steve was helping him out. Helping him out? I asked him what exactly that meant. He said that meant that Steve was helping him look for Grandma and Grandpa.

Seriously?

How special is it that my 10-year old son can share his special secret with one of the guys from church? That my son can hang out early in the morning with his dad and be surrounded by such great guys that he learns to trust them and let them in on his secret mission.

When I got to church, sure enough, Gable and Steve were on the lookout for my in-laws. And a minute later, Gable exploded, THEY'RE HERE!!

Not only did Gable take off running for the frigid parking lot, but oh dear, here's where I get weepy again...

He grabbed Steve to run out there with him.

And Steve went.

He went as if it was the most important thing in the world to him.

In the parking lot, amongst grandparents excited to see their grandchildren for the first time in six months, among all the kissing and hugging and exclamations, Steve was there.

Thank you, Steve. Thank you for being a friend not only to me, but to Jon and to my boys. Thank you for 'losing the game' 10,000 times, for being beaten by little boys, and for choosing to accept Gable's 'big secret' like it was the greatest mission on the face of the earth.

For him, at that moment, it was.

Thank you.