On Thursday evening, as I was tucking Jackson in for bed, he reached up with both arms as if he wanted to be pulled up to stand. So I held his hands, but he just lay there and started nodding off to sleep. That was the first time that he reached for me just to hold hands and it was precious.
Until Jackson went to sleep, I was thinking, "How many people in the world would feel better by holding my hand?" That is why having a baby all to yourself is so special--there is possibly no one else in the world who needs you more and just the touch of your hand can lull them to sleep.
But there may be more people who may need our help than just our own children. On Wednesday, when tragedy struck the city of London, the most moving moments recorded from that event took place as strangers passed those who were slain or injured and lay beside them and cradled them until help arrived. They super-humanly put any fear aside that they had at the time in what was undoubtedly an unstable rush of hysteria. Those people may have been naïve, or may have been perfect examples of what it means to be Christ-like. I'm not sure I would have been that brave.
So, although I know for sure there is one person in the world who wants to hold my hand, I hope that I can be there for anyone else in their time of need. Of course I hope that nothing happens like what happened on the Westminster Bridge ever again; if I do ever face anyone who is upset or in pain though, then I hope that I can be there for them.
The coolest baby at the park
Jackson waited very patiently to play on this swing until the other children were done. His park etiquette far surpassed our expectations.
Local Celebrity and his bodyguard
Our Little Prince
A video Lee edited of Jackson playing in the backyard
Developmental updates: Jackson can now do a very robust impression of an elephant by making a high-pitched noise accompanied by vibrating lips and of course, raising his arm at the same time. This week, Jackson had to miss two days of nursery due to conditions that needed to be checked-out by the GP. (He's all right; don't worry). When he returned on Friday, we found out that his friend, Sadie, had been asking for Jackson for two days and when she was repeatedly told that he was 'poorly,' she kept saying, "Oh no." I must say that I am surprised that the bonds of friendship are so deep when these little ones are only 12-18 months old. While Jackson was taking a nap today, he was talking in his sleep which only shows how much his chatting tendencies are developing. His spoken vocabulary still isn't matching the words he understands, but his key worker said that he is on track for his age group when I met with her at his parent-teacher conference this week.
If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.
