When Xavier comes to visit, he knows there will always be a plentiful supply of his favorite foods....comfort foods, as we call them here in the South. Now, of course, his favorites vary depending on whose home he's in....if he is spending time with his Nana and Gran, he is assured that they will always have a box of honey buns at the ready. Visiting his Aunt Cheri and Uncle Steve's house, means that he will raid the pantry to find the carton of goldfish crackers. At Grammy's house, along with the grapes, that always occupy the bottom drawer of the refrigerator, the Special K with almond and vanilla he requests upon waking, the toast with butter, that tastes yummy and warm, mid-morning... he invariably puts in his order for eggs...not scrambled..."scrandled." We have fallen in love with this term and cannot resist his wishes. He likes when he gets to pick out which colors will go in the skillet and calls them out.."Bwue, bwown, and one white." He once made the request that the entire bowl full of colorful eggs be made into a "big, huge, pwateful." We have narrowed the number to three...with Grammy's coaxing. It took great wisdom and patience to allow him, upon his insistence, to crack the first one. I thought for a moment and wondered, how else will he learn the shell of a fresh egg is so fragile. As the egg shattered against the rim of the bowl, he waited for my admonishment. When I reached for the bowl, I said, "It's okay..those eggs break so easy...we'll just rinse this out and make some more." He looked up at me and said, "Here, you do it," relinquishing the task to me. With time he will learn to tap gently and handle with care. What lessons I learn as I watch this little boy grow.
