Stuart and his dog Stuart

I have often said that Connor might have been a great second child, strictly because if he was the baby of the family then as soon as he was old enough to play his older brother would be ready for him. Connor has been waiting, both patiently and not, for Hudson to be an active participant in his life. It has not been an easy wait. We are blessed with a big brother that loves his baby, he is sometimes over excited and too rough but the bottom line is he thinks Hudson is his best friend in the world and he can't wait to share his adventures with him.

Some of you might be familiar with Stuart the Dog. If you are new to our family let me explain. Unlike my invisible son Kenny, Connor IS Stuart the dog. Stuart is his alter ego, if you will. Stuart is a sweet dog, likes to do tricks and wags his tail a lot. He has a very sweet little high pitched woof. Stuart is a very important and colorful part of our life.

Yesterday, Stuart was playing in the living room, doing his usual Stuart thing. He throws things and then fetches them, rolls around and asks for his tummy to be scratched all the while sharing his trademark, "woof". Hudson was just doing his own thing, taking in the scene of his brother as a dog. Connor went over to Hud and licked his face and said, woof. All of a sudden we heard a tiny little, "woof woof" come out of Hudson's mouth. It was as if time stood still. Connor literally gasped dramatically and clutched his chest. "Momma! Did you hear him woof woof?" "Oh my goodness! It's little Stuart! He's just like me Mommy. My brother is just like me!"

By now, I had tears in my eyes because Connor's joy was so overwhelming. That moment moved me in a profound way because I hadn't realized how much it would mean to Connor to have someone really be a part of his little world. Hudson just smiled up at him not even realizing that by repeating those two little words he had given his brother probably the greatest gift of his short life. At that moment Connor's best friend got him on a level that no one else had. I realize that Hudson doesn't have a clue yet what it means to live in a crazy mixed up imaginary world, but at that moment it didn't matter. He was Little Stuart.

We have been talking lately about gifts you can give people that aren't things you can buy or even touch, things like friendship, love, compassion. I know that Connor has a personality that sometimes other kids and adults might not be able to appreciate. So that one small moment for him was such a gift, he felt like someone that he loved more than anything could get board the Stuart the Dog bandwagon and he likes having the company. Connor immediately set about teaching Little Stuart the tricks of the trade, licking faces, hanging your head out of a car window and begging for food. He then hooked him up to a leash for a walk.

I hope that my boys are always best friends in the future, even if they have different interests and personalities. I am sure we have days ahead for us of disagreements and arguing, but when those days come I hope I can always think back to this moment of Stuart and Little Stuart woofing away to each other like they were the only two dogs in the world.