A Boy and his Sis

Lucie, Ryan and I were reading a book recently about a duck feeling a little "homesick". I asked the kids if they knew what this meant and they both looked at me blankly, shaking their heads.

Since I was once a little girl quite prone to homesickness (even up to the college years), I think I gave a pretty good description of the word, simplified for the four-year-old audience. The kids looked at me knowingly, hugged their bunny and Ella, and we finished the story.

This word seems to have struck a cord with Ryan, a boy we all know loves his home, bed, and most of all, his bunny. At the end of a long morning at the park last week, Ryan gave a big sigh and said, "Mommy, I'm homesick". Every time he uses this word, I want to scoop him up with a big hug and kiss -- he's just so sweet and genuine.

Ryan found a new use for "homesick" this weekend. Exhausted from constant coughing and nose blowing, we found Lucie asleep on her bed late Sunday afternoon. Having already recovered from the same cold, Ryan enjoyed the house to himself for some time, tossing his baseball into his mitt and imagining sliding into base through the kitchen hallway.

After he wore himself out with all the sliding, tossing and catching, I found him trying to sneak into his room and wake his sister.

"Uh, Mr. Ryan, what do you think you're doing?", I asked.

"I'm Lucie-sick", he said.

"What does that mean?", I wondered.

"It means I miss my Lucie", he replied.

Fortunately, the cure to his illness was right on the other side of the bedroom door. Lucie was waking up, feeling much better and ready to play.