After we read every night and I'm tucking Doc in, I try to slip in a kiss goodnight while he hides under the covers playing "catch me". If I'm successful he grabs me and smothers me with kisses to pay me back. So if I sneak my kiss in while we read he jumps me a shower of goodnight smooches.
Round midnight last night, while tapping away in my shop on a silver cat, Kit knocked on my door and shuffled in to complain that Doc was crying. Poor Doc was having a leg cramp. I climbed into his bunk and massaged the calf and soothed and talked him off the ledge. Buddy just got home and pitched in with a sip of water and kind word. Finally, I tucked his small smiling self to sleep and went back to work. A couple of minutes later there was another knock on my door. Doc was standing there. He threw his arms around me in a great big hug and said "Thank you, Grampy, I feel a lot better".
These are special moments to cherish with small kids that fade so fast when they get a bit older. They aren't as open or tactile with their feelings anymore. They make all the hard work for them worthwhile. So get it while you can, I say.
