"Alex" - A Special Father's Day Story

This is my grandson, Carter. Quite a nice looking young man, I think. But last night when this picture was taken, he had a special glow about him. Little did we know...

Today Carter came to me with the news that he had had a baby. His baby's name is Alex, and unlike moms, whose babys grow in their tummies, Carter's baby grew in his right foot. Since I wasn't invited to the birthing, I can't tell you how that went, but Alex arrived. He is a chunky little thing, a little bluish in color.

Here is Alex in the bed that Carter gave him:



Carter spent most of the day with Alex in tow (pardon the pun), and he was such a good father. He took him everywhere. In fact, when it was time for us to go to the movie (we saw Night at the Museum 2 and highly recommend it), Carter insisted that Alex come along. We didn't have a car seat for the little guy, but we nestled him in the drink holder between the two front seats, and Carter kept an eye on him from the back seat. By the time we reached the theater, Alex had fallen asleep, and Carter reluctantly allowed him to nap in the car while we went inside.

Because Bob was on call today, we had two cars at the theater. When the movie was over, Carter was quite ready to check out his baby, until Brody and Kennedy talked Grandpa out of a few spare coins for the arcade. Carter decided Grandma could babysit for a few minutes. I took Alex home with me. As I was lifting him from his little nest, I noticed he was wet. Hmmm, where did that come from? Imagine my horror when I realized that Alex had sprung a pinhole leak. I quickly ran toward the house with him when "poof"! Alex was no more.



I may be slow, but when a grandson's happiness is at stake, I can think pretty doggone quickly. And besides, I couldn't bear to be held responsible for losing his baby while he was in my care. I quickly found the bucket of Alexes-to-be (aka water balloons), found a blue one, and rushed to the back spigot to breathe life into the little guy. Not quite the same as coming from my right foot, but as surrogate mother, it was the best I could do under the circumstances. I laid the "new" Alex in his bed.



Oh my, they look so much alike, they might've been identical twins!

Carter came home from the movies with Grandpa, and was very happy to find "Alex" resting safely in his bed. All was well. Carter scooped his sweet baby into his arms and continued to carry him along in all of his adventures for the next little while. He only lost track of him once, and was a bit panicked until we found him in his bed on the floor of the camper.

Carter's dad (I guess that would be "Grandpa" Bill), arrived to take the kids home. Somehow, his sweet little Alex, being the fragile soul he was, met a (second untimely) demise. Tears were shed, and poor Carter was almost inconsolable. I knew just what to do -- back to the shed for a new "Alex-to-be", back to the waterspigot, and voila! a(nother) new Alex was born!

Daddy Carter was pleased as punch.






I sent them quickly on their way. I guess I should have slipped Bill a few more "Alexes", just in case.

By the way, this is a true story.