006. GRANT

This young man is my nephew, Grant.  Although I've never called him it in person, whenever I think of him...  In my mind, I call him Grant Apple.  I have no idea why.  I have a tendency to nickname everyone who means anything to me.  They just take on names that seem appropriate to me.  Though where "Grant Apple" comes from I will never know.

I don't know Grant as much as I want to.  They live about 300 miles from me.  I try to keep in touch, but it's not the same as spending time with someone and getting to know them.  

I think Grant knows I love him.  I think he knows I even like him a lot as a person.  I appreciate his thoughtful nature.  The last time he was here, we talked about some stuff I was writing and he asked extremely thoughtful questions that helped me work out some ideas I had.  He also offered his suggestions and shared his opinions on some of my ideas.  It made my work more effective and I was inspired to write quite a bit afterward because of that conversation.  Danielle was a part of it was well...  I don't want to leave her out, but it meant a lot to me that Grant talked to me.  That he was willing to help me.

It sounds almost selfish when I put it like that.  In many ways, my relationship with him is selfish.  I want to be an adult Grant can rely on.  I want him to see me as someone he can trust, someone who has his best interests in mind...  I envision a time in his life when the world is completely against him and he sits down and counts the people he can turn to.  I want to be one of the first names he thinks of.

And yet, I benefit the most from contact with him.  I get to be the cool uncle.  I enjoy being around him.  Especially because Grant has such a unique perspective of the world around him.  When he talks about things, I always walk away thinking, "Ok...  That's not how I would've seen that".  He provides me with a viewpoint that sparks my own imagination.  He's got one of those personalities that looks outside the box.  I absolutely admire that quality and I've always believed these are the type of people that make the great intuitive leaps forward in thinking and science.  They are the people who take chances and move beyond the common place.

He's a great kid.  And I'm fortunate he's part of my life.  

Grant is a reason for being.