The other day I watched Kaiya, Mylee, and Cole while their mommy and daddy went to a 40th birthday party for a friend. Court has been working from home since mid-March, as have many folks. He recently made a move from his temporary “office” in their bedroom to a new office he designed downstairs in their walk-out basement. The kids were happy to show me his new workspace. I found it to be a nice, cozy place that will undoubtedly be much quieter.

We were getting ready to go back upstairs, when Mylee said, “Nana, do you want to see Dad’s creepy doll?” Well, who wouldn’t. She showed me that he had a Raggedy Andy doll that I’m pretty sure my mother gave him when he was a kid. I love Raggedy Ann and Andy, but looking at the doll, I can see why Mylee calls it creepy doll.

“Do you want to know a secret about Raggedy Andy?” I asked the three of them. The two girls were basically uninterested. Cole, on the other hand, wanted to see the secret. So I opened up Raggedy Andy’s shirt and showed him the mark of every single Raggedy Ann and Andy: the heart with I Love You on the chest.

Well, he couldn’t have been more impressed. When I tucked him in bed that night, I laid down with him for a bit. Hand to God, his last words before those beautiful brown eyes closed were, “I can’t wait to show Daddy the surprise on his creepy doll.”

The next day, I texted Court to ask if Cole had shown him a surprise on his Raggedy Andy. He answered, “Yep, he was excited to show me. I didn’t know it was there.”

Well, he had of course known it was there at some point. Perhaps, things like providing for a family of five took priority in his mind.

Cole’s delight at the message made me smile. Cole: I love you.

Have a good weekend.