The Boy and I were playing just before bedtime. The miasteczko that T and he made during their visit this weekend is still up, so we decided to make use of it. As often happens when playing, the Boy decided to pontificate a bit. Picking up a convertible, he began explaining, “This is a big car. It can hold a lot. I think maybe 38 gallons.” He handed me the car upside down and asked me to read what kind of car it was.

“It’s a 38 Gallon Cruiser,” I said. He beamed.

“I said that!”

I was expecting such a response, hoping for it at the very least. I like when something I say, something K does, something L makes him, gives him a certain kind of comfortable joy. It was the same with L when she was his age, still working out how everything worked, still not quite sure she had a handle on some of the basics. Of course, I look at her now and think, “You still don’t have a handle on some of the basics,” and I look in the mirror shaving and think, “You still don’t have a handle on some of the basics.”

K has a handle on the basics though. She knows what brings a smile to everyone’s face: homemade rosół. The Boy leaves his bowl empty; the Girl goes back for seconds; even the older cat is happy to get the dregs in E’s bowl.

The basics.