The Sailor

So, it seems as though from the moment my child was born he has been a boat fanatic. Even as a baby he was drawn to boats. One of his first words was boat. In a toy store, he gravitated to the boat toys. The dock was his favorite place. He could stay there all day or at least until I dragged him out. Boats were his thing.

I will never forget the day he saw his first boat.

It was around his third birthday. It was a warm, sunny day, and I took him to a little ice cream shop near the Cleveland docks. We sat side by side on an old green bench and waited for a boat to dock. We talked, enjoyed our ice cream, and watched the families as they passed by. There was a huge smile on his face and vanilla ice cream melting down his chin. We heard the boat before we saw it.

"Here it comes" I said.

As it drew near he froze. The boat grew louder and bigger. We saw it come around the dock. His eyes were wide open like a deer caught in headlights. Ice cream was running down his arm. He backed up towards me, ice cream now covering both of us. He stood on my thighs and moved backwards until he pressed his back against my chest. As I placed my arms around him I could feel his heart beating out of his chest.

"Oh my God, what have I done? I have scarred my child for life."

Until the boat passed, other than his heart, he was frozen stiff. I was terrified to see his reaction, although when he turned around and I saw the ice cream covered smile he had on his face I knew his boat obsession was real.

So like every other loving mom I scoured the local toy shops for every cool boat item I could find. My son loves boats and I'm going to give him boats. I decorated his Little Sailors Room.

Through his fascination the entire family became obsessed. His enthusiasm was contagious. All toys, books, and movies were about boats. We only got ice cream at the ice cream shop he saw his first boat at. We sought out new restaurants near the lake and we took weekly family ferry rides.

The most monumental event of his young life was the Christmas after he turned four. We got him the greatest present he would receive for some time, a replica boat that looked just like the boat he saw for the first time, it was bigger than he was. His reaction was priceless. Literally jumping up and down, clapping with joy. He spent most of his time pushing, pretending, dreaming, and loving that boat. Over the next year it was the only toy that he would even touch.

The day that my grandmother died he was crushed. They were inseparable. I bought a rose for him to place inside the coffin. In addition, he chose to give her an invaluable gift, one of his most beloved little boats. I tied a little ribbon around it and he placed it on grandmother's chest as she lay in her coffin. Only those who know my child really knew what a sacrifice that was for him. That was a gift of pure love, the biggest gift that he was capable of giving. Grandmother wherever she was, was weeping along with the rest of us.

He was our little sailor.

He asked me to move the replica boat out of his room today and I did. It's now sitting in our garage, as none of the other children ever really got into the boat thing. I'm afraid the boat has set sail. I realized this morning that my little boy is growing up.