He was shy at first, and clung closely to his mother. Occasionally he looked into the screen at this talking stranger who kept on calling him. He looked curious, he seemed to want to stay around and play, but he looked shy. Minutes later, he warmed up a bit, little by little, and he started to place his little wooden cars in front of the screen, as if inviting me to play with him. Sweet... Touching... Made me smile. And I needed a reason to really smile.
In his eyes and features were clear traces of his dad... In his movements, in the way he walked and babbled, I saw memories of his grandma... How this little being brought so much joy and innocence into our lives! How my nephew made the most difficult months and year of mum's life, and perhaps my life to date, so much more bearable by just being around and being the beautiful joy and boy he is... So many times at the hospital, whenever he came to visit, I silently thanked him for giving mum a reason to live just that much longer... How she smiled and pushed herself through physio and to regain her mobility again after her surgery... How she closed her eyes and smiled whenever he came to have lunch with her at the hospice ("death ward"...) even as her breathing and will to live became so laboured...
Oh, little J., what a blessing you have been, and how much you have given us...
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