Tractors

One thing I have loved so much about having a two-year-old is how my perspective on the little things in life has changed.  Even when Brian is not around, I find myself getting excited about little things that I know he loves.  For example, during those rare times when I am driving around without Brian in the car, I find myself wanting to shout out things like, "Oh look, there's a school bus!" or "Did you see that big truck?"  And then I sheepishly remember he's not behind me in his seat and I have to smile because he's made me so excited about trucks, buses, and most of all tractors. 

For a very long time now Brian has LOVED tractors.  To him any sort of large construction machine and farm equipment is considered a tractor.  He gets particularly excited when we get to drive by building or road construction.  He will yell out "tractor!" even before I have spotted it, and he gets the cutest grin on his face.  He has started adding descriptive words like "big tractor" and "orange tractor" and then he'll even tell me what it is doing.  His favorite line is "digging dirt."  For the first time in my life I have actually WANTED to take the roads I know are under construction just so Brian can see the tractors.  I find myself taking detours past the tractors to make our daily errands more enjoyable for him.

The past three days have been our lucky days.  I haven't had to take any detours to see tractors and trucks, because they have been right in front of our house.  Our neighbors across the street have been ripping up their whole driveway and pouring new concrete.  Without Brian around I definitely would have been annoyed because they started in with the backhoe before 7:00 am the first morning loudly smashing the concrete and ripping out huge chunks.  We were all awakened by some incredibly loud and unpleasant noises.  However, my annoyance quickly turned to happiness and gratitude when Brian (who currently has a nasty cold) looked out the front window.  He was so excited to see the orange tractor digging up rocks.  He imediately found his own beloved orange tractor (thank you Grandma), his tractor book, and his tiny little tractors to hold while he watched the fabulous entertainment. 

Then the dump truck came and he was even more excited.  He found his toy dump truck and was glued to that window all morning.  I ended up feeding him breakfast there and changing his clothes in front of the window.  I figured it was not everyday that his favorite things in the whole world would be working outside our front window.  Oh the joy this little guy brings to my life.  I am so grateful for the time I get to spend with him right now.