The Second Blond Brother

10. Used a Thomas the Tank pillowcase as a lovey and thought his thumb tasted better than chocolate ice cream.
9. Ate one brussel sprout leaf the night before he moved out and said: mmm, that was good. I should have done that a LONG time ago.
8. Would spontaneously yell "Hey Tammy, I love you" as I left him at school. Or would tell me to "Tell so-and-so I love them" as I walked out the door.
7. Ran out the front door to the end of the walk and strained his neck to get a view of the train at the end of the block....almost every single time he heard it.
6. Could not sit through Mass to save his life but could retell the gospel story almost every week.
5. Loved "Go Dog Go" and "The Best Nest" to the point of two of us having both books memorized.
4. Woke up early every morning so that he could "read" before school. This Blondie would look at all the pictures and then declare: I read it in my mind.
3. Played "Dirty Towels" every night after his bath, a game where he hid under his wet towel and I pretended that he was missing but left his dirty laundry on the floor for me to pick up.
2. Had two favorite songs in the car: "The One Two Song" (aka, Ryan Adam's "Two") and "The Colorado Song (aka, Brett Dennen's "There is So Much More").
1. Was the hardest to keep here and in the end, the hardest to have move forward.