Still Waters....

They say still waters run deep.


And my 5 of 8? Well, he would be some still, deep waters.


He likes to tell people that he is the quiet one of the family, which, frankly, in our cacophonous clan, doesn't really mean a whole lot.


Except that he is. He's the quiet one.


I took him on a mommy/son date recently, chatting to him non-stop as we drove down the road, asking him about his dreams, his goals, his ideas.


After about 10 minutes of monosyllabic answers to his mother's inquiries, 5 of 8 drew a deep breath and said, "Mom, I'm really not into this talking thing so much."


Ah, yes, the strong silent type.


So when 5 of 8 develops a passion, it's a deep one. And for 5 of 8, that deep passion would reside in all things video games. He has a deep and abiding adoration for all things Cube and Wii and DS, Nintendo that is. And this week, I learned how one's passion and one's unspoken emotions can meet.


5 of 8 kept asking me to come upstairs to see something he had made on the Wii. Please understand, I have done my fair share of 'ooohing' and 'aaahing' over the video games victories and ninja moves my children love to show me. I really do try for a level of enthusiasm in my voice, even when I have no clue why it would be so amazing that Mario can now execute the Final Smash. So, I put 5 of 8 off a bit as I assumed I would be seeing more of the same.


But I was wrong.


When I finally made it up to the video game viewing area, I found that 5 of 8 had been busy on We Ski, the t.v. screen his canvas, the Wii his palette.




And Grammy was his muse.


Grammy is 5 of 8's paternal great-grandmother. She passed away almost a year ago at the age of 96. Her birthday is next week and the one year anniversary of her passing is at the end of February.

When she died last year, 5 of 8 never said much. We went through the process, celebrating her memorial, M leading the service. Grammy was adored and is much missed. But 5 of 8 has never said much about it.


Until now.

Because what I found was that 5 of 8 had made a slide show of Miis on We Ski depicting Grammy on the ski slopes. He depicted her zipping down powder covered trails, making a wild jump, hamming it up for the camera, relaxing in a hot tub.

And posing with 5 of 8 beneath a brightly lit Christmas tree.



In life, I don't think Gram ever hit the slopes. She was many things, but a snow bunny she was not. But now, now that she has been released from the confines of this life, she lives anew for 5 of 8. She's his skiing buddy. She makes wicked awesome jumps. She's earning points for style and difficulty.

And for 5 of 8, he's now been able to write his memoir of his Grammy. He's been able to depict her sense of fun and sass.

And he's been able now to show her how very, very much he misses her.

Still waters.

They do run deep.