Empathy

Papa Bear is having some balance issues of late. In October he was suddenly and violently thrown off his feet...okay, he got really, really dizzy, couldn't stand up and couldn't keep anything inside. Yuck. There were many suggested reasons for the sudden dizziness but we are finding that it all relates back to another medical issue that I'm not gonna go into at the moment. The point is that Papa Bear is struggling with his balance. Which means no bicycle riding or skiing...two of his favorite things to do.

Tuesday I had lunch with K and Train Guy (who still needs a new nickname...star wars boy? hmmmm...) and we were talking about Train Guy's newest accomplishment, riding a bike without training wheels. I commented that he could go for bike rides now with Yo Momma, which caused him to get that little smile on his face of happiness and satisfaction that just melts my heart every time. K said something like "Yeah, Yo Momma needs someone to ride bikes with!". I then said, "I would say you could ride with Papa Bear, but he's having a little trouble with his balance lately." Train Guy thought about that for a second and replied "Saturday I was trying to ride my bike between two cars and I was having a little trouble with my balance." "You can understand Papa Bear's trouble then, can't you?" was my reply. To which Train Guy nodded his head solemnly.

There is something super precious about a 6 year old empathizing with the troubles of 60-some-odd year old Papa Bear. He's a keeper.