"Mom?! Hey, Mo-ooom?!"
*
Jacob was tripping over himself, backpack flying from one shoulder as he tried frantically to reach me afterschool.
*
"Hey buddy!" I greeted him as he arrived at my side.
*
"Mom?! Mom?!"
*
The last time I saw him this filled with this level of thrilled determination was when we'd been shopping in the bakery section of WalMart and he'd spotted a Scooby Doo cake.
*
"Yeah, bud? What's up?"
*
"Mom?! Where do Nathan and Bethany live?"
*
"Oh!" I responded with surprise. This was not the question I'd expected. It had been months since Nathan and Bethany had abandoned us in this God-forsaken city of snow, ice, and friendless Sunday dinners in search of something as incosequential as a job promotion (I balk.), "Well, they live in Las Vegas."
*
His shoulders relaxed, fell back. His face settled into a confident grin. He started nodding his head slowly, surely. "I knew it."
*
"Really?" I asked, "What made you think of where they live?"
*
Excited again, he explained: "Today, when I got to choose from the treasure box in class, there was this necklace and I just looked at it and you know what it said?!"
*
Las Vegas.
He wore it to bed that night.
And to school the next day.
And, for the next week.
It's now hanging at the foot of his bed, carefully strung over the bedpost.
Miss you. Love you.
That is SO unfair! I have no kids or randy chihuahuas to bring a tickle to your throat and Nathan yells at me when I try to take a picture of him huddled in our closet screaming out your names! Ah Jacob, we miss you too. Between this post and the picture of you lying in the snow which made me laugh out loud, we have decided you are officially one of the coolest kids ever (just like your brother and sisters!). For you, I will dance your primary dance while facing northeast. So if you feel the vibe to dance in school today, that's from me to you!
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