Faith and Stuff...y

After an afternoon of Play-doh and Legos and so much fun, I was snuggled into the twin bed with Mr. Brilliance. It is my favorite time of the day. We lie there together in the semi-darkness and I give powerful renditions of our favorite songs (right now it's Best Friend by Harry Nilsson) and he tells me profound facts about dinosaurs, and life in general. Then Nonny starts to fade with hopes that he will soon.

But on this particular night, there was no fading happening. "Nonny, I usually fall to sleep with a stuffy." You all know what a stuffy is, right? (I didn't at first, but quickly figured it out.) "Oh shoot, buddy. We were supposed to bring one, but we forgot..." "But Nonny, I need a stuffy...(whiny voice starting to kick in. We were really tired...) "How about you snuggle this furry pillow?" "No, I don't like to snuggle pillows. It's not the same." (OK, that clearly didn't work.) Well, Sweet Pea...I'm sorry but I don't have a stuffy." Silence for a minute. I thought he had found some acceptance, and fatigue took over. But that was not the case. "Nonny, could you please go look for one?" What? Go look for a stuffy? Where? Am I really gonna have to get dressed and drive to Safeway? Does Safeway even have stuffies?

All of you grandmas out there know that we aren't accustomed to saying "no" to these children. We had to raise our own kids with a lot of "no"s and this is one of the rewards of being grandparents. But here I was feeling like a big failure...what kind of Nonny doesn't have stuffies?

"Nonny, pleeease? Please just go look?"

"OK buddy, I'll go look..." I said without a lot of hope. I was thinking at this point maybe he would fall asleep during the time I was searching, and the problem would be solved until the next day when I would be going stuffy shopping at first light.

As I walked down the stairs I breathed a quick "Oh God, help me here" and headed to the garage. We have moved a lot in the past few years, and we have a remnant of boxes left to be sorted through...garage sale, keepsakes, and stuff we've toted around and kept for almost 20 years in case our offspring ever want it. I was looking for just such a box.

First box I looked into was old curtains and linens. We clearly need a donation pile out here. This garage floor is cold. Oh yeah, hubby told me not to come out here barefoot until he gets "OUCH!!!" something cleaned up. This is futile. How am I gonna get this dear boy to sleep tonight? One more box...AHA!! I can't believe it!! STUFFIES!!!

You know how Jesus taught that we need to become as little children to enter His kingdom? I get it now! I mean, I really get it!! My grandson didn't question "if" I had a stuffy! I'm his Nonny for goodness sake, of COURSE I have one! I didn't know it, but he did. He asked. He received. Simple. Childlike. Faith.

And what do we do after we have made our request? We rest...