I live with an 80 year old man masquerading as a 9 year old boy named Blaine.
Yes, sometimes he is juvenile - but as my grandmother used to always say "once a man, twice a child". Which, in a nutshell, means that old men act like 9 year old boys. Or at least my 9 year old boy.
Blaine is different. He is a dreamer. Lost in his own head quite often, able to focus with such intensity on something - a book, a video game, a tv show, that all else is lost to him. Loves Hot Wheels cars, Wimpy Kid books, and tossing a football around in the backyard. On the surface, he seems like other boys his age.
But then you talk to him. Hang around him for a day or so. And you will know how different he really is.
Blaine makes pronouncements that baffle me - in a good way. I always stop and wonder how he comes up with the stuff that he says. What kind of thought process is going through his head when he thinks these things up. I've mentioned before some of the things he has said. God's Beard. Mother's Day. Race Relations. His heroes are not sports stars. His heroes are Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King, Jr. He despises litter and picks up trash all the time even as I cringe and tell him to put that nasty thing back on the ground for God's sake! He just looks at me and tells me that he has to care for the earth. (Now, if only I could get him to care for his room like he cares for Mother Nature, but one doesn't seem to translate into the other).
He woke up the other morning at 4:30am. Came into my room and woke me and told me that he couldn't sleep because he swore he heard footsteps in the house. I told him there was nothing to worry about and sent him back to bed. He went, but he didn't sleep. When I woke at 6, I hopped in the shower and then headed downstairs to find that Blaine was dressed and ready for school. He had even made his own breakfast. Then he said he wanted to show me something. He took me by the hand and led me in the dining room and on the table was breakfast for me. He made me a bagel with cream cheese while he was making his own because, he said, that he knows I spend school mornings getting him and his sister fed, lunches packed, permission slips etc signed and that I often skip my own breakfast. So, he wanted to take care of me since I do such a great job of taking care of him and Kyra. He even made sure to toast an onion bagel for me instead of the plain kind that he and his sister like.
Stunned doesn't even begin to cover my reaction to this. Even though this is not an unusual occurrence and it shouldn't be so surprising.
Same day I picked him up from school and he tells me that while the "extended day" kids (of which he is one) were outside playing a woman came by with a baby in a stroller to take a walk around the school track. Blaine loves babies. He loves to coo at them and pat their heads and tell them how cute they are. He tells me that before he walked away from the mom and baby - and I have no idea how old this baby was, but from Blaine's description I'm guessing somewhere in the 6-9 month range - he leaned down into the stroller and told the baby "Kid, let your own feet be your guide into the world and be true to yourself. Be a leader, not a follower and never let anyone bully you".
Again with the stunned reaction. Because, really, what 9 year old boy says these things?
My 9 year old boy.
His name is Blaine and he has an old soul. I'm blessed to know him and I can't wait to see where his feet lead him.
