I told my toddler buddy he’d be four
next time he has a birthday. He replied
“and will I be a grownup then?” (Mature
for forty months, he’s lately working on
the values of our common number lore).
“I’m happy when you’re here. It’s like a gift,”
he said to me this morning. I was floored.
He learns so fast, he may be verified –
soon more adult than many I’ve adored.

(Magic 9)