Saturday, January 31, 2009

Ryan and Me

Last night, Hunter was invited to a Birthday Party with his friend Max. Well, when I got home from work Ryan was basically waiting by the door for me to walk in. He asked me if I wanted to go to the church and play basketball with him. I was taken back as this was a request that he has never asked of me. Stacey and Mom were planning a little night out with the family to PF Changs, so I really struggled with what to do - I thought "Maybe we could do both?" But in the end decided that a night out with Ryan would be fun. So, we ran over to the Rec Center and found a basketball court open but it had a rim at regulation height. Ryan and I tried to shoot on it, but he just couldn't get the ball high enough. We decided to practice dribbling and passing instead. Ryan can't decide which hand to use to shoot and dribble so he ends up using both at different times - maybe this will be good for him as he gets older or maybe it will hinder him, but I am not messing with it because he is having so much fun. After about an hour of dribbling, passing, and trying to shoot a court opened up with a small rim. We proceeded to shoot at the basket for the next hour (again, sometimes Ryan favored the right and other times he favored the left hand). We took about a five minute break and a couple of water breaks.

During our long break, Ryan mentioned something to me about him getting old and then I would be a grandpa. He said that then I would die and he would never see me again. I took the opportunity to talk to him about our bodies and spirits and living with Heavenly Father. In the end, big alligator tears dropped from his eyes as he said that he would miss me when I died. We hugged for a while and I told him "That is why we need to have fun together everyday so we can have such great memories to keep us going until we see each other again with Heavenly Father." We hugged some more and then played some more basketball. Then, we went home and fell asleep...we were worn out.

2 comments:

cari said...

What a sweet Ryan moment. It really reminds us that family is so important and spending time together is really what matters.

mommag said...

It is so important to turn every experience into a spiritual learning moment. You did a great job. Just think when you are a grandpa - I will be a great- grandma.