Sugar, spice, snails, puppy dog tails

A few thoughts on snails and puppy dog tails

Little boys, according to the rhyme, consist of snakes, snails, and puppy dog tails. I'll have to agree that they may carry snails in their pockets and grab puppy dog tails, but they can be just as much sugar and spice and everything nice as little girls.

I raised two boys and have memories that will never leave, but today I want to concentrate on my grandsons and great grandson (Yes, I'm a great grandmother, but I started having a family when I was but a child myself - yeah, sure). All four boys are about two years apart.

Faris, my oldest grandson and the one I haven't seen in six years, turned twelve in August... wow! a young man now. One time, as I drove him from his home to mine for a weekend stay when he was about four, he told me about his trip to Syria, all the sights he remembered seeing, the relatives he met. Then he became extremely serious. "Granny, I missed you so much," he informed me. "I missed you with my heart and my head and my mouth and my chin." Ah, memories of precious times... I wonder if he's tall for his age, short, or average? His hair was a dark brown, nearly black, with golden highlights. His eyes, such a deep brown. One time on the phone, when he was three, he explained to me how his PaPa and I were his grandparents. PaPa was just the name for his grandfather, and Granny was the name for his grandmother. Bright, so bright...

My 'baby,' Randy, has three sons: Ryan, Colby, and Shane. Ryan was born the day before his father's twenty-sixth birthday. Colby was born almost exactly two years later. Then Shane was born the day before Colby's second birthday. September is full of male Zabels' birthdays.

Faris and Ryan had a special rapport from the time Ryan was born, even though Faris was two years older. As Ryan became aware of other people, he connected with his cousin. I have pictures of the two of them appartently talking away, Faris seemingly understanding Ryan's babyish gab, Ryan listening intently as Faris talked to him. They could be such good friends.

At ten, Ryan sways between being a child and a young man. Highly intelligent, he finds school boring but reads voraciously. His father teaches him Russian and algebra. Tall for his age with blond hair and light blue eyes, he's quite handsome, but many people think he's aloof because he waits and analyzes before taking action. I call Ryan my special boy because, with two younger brothers demanding more than equal time, he felt lost and abandoned for awhile; he needed to feel special to someone.

Even though his brothers play baseball, football, and basketball very well, Colby is THE athlete of the three. Finding him without a ball of some kind in hand means he must really be ill. Since Ryan is larger and always has been, we discover we don't realize how big Colby is until we watch him with others his age, very easy to see him since his white blond head is several inches above his classmates'. A person in his own right, he never understood teasing or laughter, if it MIGHT be at his expense. Lately, though, he has started accepting good-natured teasing and even saying things to envoke laughter. Colby manipulates, but, oh, so charmingly. He smiles quickly and brightly, drawing others into his sphere.

Shane, cute and loveable, quick with kisses and hugs, manages to surprise us all. The 'baby' for so long, now Shane is growing up too quickly. The other day his mother asked him if he were the 'wiggliest' in his class, that so-and-so had been named that by the Pre-K teacher last year. Shane thought a second and named a different classmate. I asked, "Then are you the smartest?" He thought a bit before answering, very solemly, "Actually, I am."

I wrote about the rapport between Faris and Ryan earlier. Another pair has had that same relationship from the time they first saw each other: Colby and Kurtis, my great grandson. Again another two years (and about three months) passed after Shane's birth before my daughter's oldest daughter presented us with Kurtis. Colby first met his second cousin when the baby was about three months old - love at first sight. When we left, Colby asked when he would get to see "the little guy" again. The title has stuck. Kurtis has nearly black hair, full of curls until his mother cut it extremely short, and his eyes are green hazel with specks of golden brown near the pupil. He's smart, like all my grandchildren (what can I say, I have intelligent grandchildren). When he was but a few months over two, his other great grandmother, perturbed with something, exclaimed, "That's ridiculous!" Kurtis looked up at her and agreed, "Yes, absolutely ridiculous." Now, if someone asks him, "Are you crazy?", he'll answer, "No, I'm eccentric."

Thoughts like those above lighten my life and place a smile in my heart.

Viv

Sugar, spice, snails, puppy dog tails  (ASR) Jots of thoughts as they flit through the rummage of my mind. #551218 by Vivian