“Dis my brudder. He’s a baybay.”
That was a recent Facebook memory quote from Johanna concerning Leo. It’s hard for me to remember his baby year. Lot happened. Four years since gone. But in the gurgles and giggles of Judah, I hear the echo of all three big kids in their infancy. He has the blurty chuckle of Peter, the high squeal of Johanna and the broad smile of Leo.
Right after the nurse started his Mountain Dew colored death blow to the leukemia yesterday, Leo asked to watch me play a game on my phone that has monsters on it. I complied. It’s not super monsters. Just occasional wolves.
After dinner he picked out a movie called Kubo. Way scarier than anything I’d let him watch at home. Good good flick. When it was over, he explained how awesome it was to his night shift nurse. Using huge arm gestures (learned from me) and wide eyed emphasis (learned from Desiree) he told the nurse about the skeleton and the magic guitar.
When the nurse left I had some doubts arise and began to anticipate some extra waking from bad dreams.
“Leo, are you going to sleep ok?”
“Yeah! Cuz when there’s monsters, Jesus is a big big big big big big big big Lion! He scare dem away!” He then obliged me with a roar.
“Are you a lion too?”
“Yeah,” he said absently. “But I’m just a little lion. I scare bugs.”
He’s 15 hours into a 24 hour drip. His appetite is going but his spirit is indomitable. If you come to visit us, don’t look for us among the sick. Go where they let wild lions roam the path through The Valley of the Shadow. A place where monsters fear and bugs flee.
“If we’re gonna fly we fly like eagles
Arms spread wide.
If we’re gonna fear we’re gonna fear no evil
We will rise.
By Your power we will go
By Your spirit we are bold.
If we’re gonna stand we stand as giants
If we’re gonna walk, we walk as lions.” Skillet
Love, Them 