Oh,no -- Not give money, again!

As our van approaches the exit to the parking garage near the McLean County Courthouse in downtown Bloomington, Jameson spots the $1.00 in my hand and laments, "Oh, no -- not give money, again."  He smacks his hand against his closed eyes and he hangs his head back in pained resignation.  I tuck into my purse the 35 cents in change, and we head toward our lunch destination.  He worries that "everything pay money."

Another Jamesonism about a week later (6 days to be exact)  .  .  .  he comes into the kitchen with a look of happy urgency beneath his blue bike helmet, "Mom, come, come, come here.  You gotta see there are (and he leads me through the living room by my arm) yellow flowers.  They are really tiny (looking back to make sure I'm still with him as if his grip on my limb wasn't confirmation enough) and cute."  The lad is seriously pleased to show to his flower-loving mother the freshly blossomed yellow petals right near the porch.  Yes, I like blooms, but my excited reaction was really for Jameson's benefit.  The boy takes it to heart to make others happy, and THAT's a most amazing thing.

A few days ago (March 28th-ish) while putting away his clean laundry, Jameson's memory was sparked by his and Baylor's play earlier in the day of pretending to speak Spanish.  "A family in Spanish wanted me."  Chad clarified, "In Spain?"  And Jameson confirmed, "Yes, in Spanish, but it didn't work out."  Chad indicated that he knew about the previous family match that fell through months before the quake.  This boy with a long, tough memory then recounted the day he spent playing with Chad at UPMC in Pittsburgh immediately after their evacuation from Haiti and that he wanted to be in our family.  "I not want another family."  And I think, again, about that worn bear he hugged for the year that he waited, and I anticipate many more talks we'll have over the coming months .  .  .  and years.  When reporters and other writers describe the spirit of Haitians they meet, almost without fail they use the word "resilience," as they should.