He grows. And grows. And grows. He eats. And eats....whenever his head comes up from the words or his eyes leave the program he is writing.... he eats. "Mom, what is there to eat?" "Mom, I'm hungry. Can I have something?" And as quick as he can, he gobbles nutrition (hopefully) and is re-energized to learn more. Even power outages do not stop him. "I'll just get some candles..." And back to reading and learning he goes. He's reading "Bringing Up Boys" on this stormy evening. Learning about himself and others. Learning that a foundation built on God and His care is tantamount to a growing young boy. Does he understand it all? I do not think so. Some concepts may be beyond his eleven year old mind. Yet, he surprises me. And he learns. He reads and he re-reads. And his appetite is growing along with him.
His mind is always thinking, analyzing, and sorting. "How does this fit with this other information?" "Mom, did you know...." as he recites some specific fact. To which I think, "He's definitely his father's son." Remembering bits of information, numbers and quantities to great distances or fine minutia, categorizing logical arguments or even identifying logical fallacies. His dad has a similar ability. I never thought like this at age eleven. I was playing hide and seek, raising a pet duck in my bedroom, and swimming in our farm spring-fed pond. I enjoyed books and learning but it wasn't emphasized in our family outside of school. Not until many years later did I discover that one could learn about life, about struggles, about wisdom from reading. He, already, has surpassed me in many ways. Hungry for life. Hungry for learning. An appetite unending. May the world hold enough books for my young son. Today he's reading a series on Sherlock Holmes. "Mom, is this a true story? Mom, did you know....?"
I grin. Keep learning my son.
Today's Journey Joy - Life's appetite
