At exactly 6:45 AM, the light turned on in my room. It was still dark outside. I was sleeping in the guest room at my friend Shanda's house, but it was also the room where her four year old Caleb had his dresser. Caleb had forgotten that I was there and stood for some time staring at the bed alarmed. I covered my head with the comforter and thought "Maybe if I lay very still, I will fall back asleep." A few minutes went by, he turned off the fan, and opened some drawers and then I thought he was gone, but the silence broke with his soft voice asking me, "Do you want to see my blue shirt?" I pretended that I was still asleep. That sounds terrible, as I write it I know it sounds like I was being so mean, but it WAS 6:45 in the morning and I was sooo tired after the big wedding I had shot that weekend and was trying to recover some lost sleep. A few minutes and then, "Do you want to see my yellow shirt?" He stood as quiet as a mouse...so still that I peeked out to see where he was and found standing right by my face and he asked "Can you button this?" I let just my hands come out and buttoned his clothes, and then went back to my cave. A few minutes later I was sure he was gone, but no, he was standing by my bedside again, just waiting for me to peek out. This time he said, "Here, you can sleep with this," and he handed me his little well-loved metal Thomas the Tank Engine. He left. I fell asleep. Some time later he was back by my bedside. I don't know how long he waited because I was asleep but when I did see him, he said "I guess I am going to sleep with you now." I lifted the covers and he crawled in with his back up against me and we both feel asleep. And that is the story of how Caleb became my buddy The next morning when I woke up, he was asleep on the floor next to me, I have no idea how early it was when he came in, but there he was with a pillow and blanket all curled up on the floor, as soon as he woke up I invited him to cuddle with me again. 
He spent most of the day chasing Joanna the Chicken around, (yes I have the very proud honor of having a chicken named after me). I watched Caleb out the back door trying to feed her water. 
My favorite--and what gets me laughing just thinking about it--is when he kept trying to sneak the chicken into the house. At one point when I went to the door, I could barely see "Joanna"--I could only see her feet sticking out through his fingers and she was hanging upside down behind him. (She did not get hurt and is still alive and well.) 
While I was there, I was missing my kids so very much but my buddy and Shan's other kids helped, I fell in love with each and every one! | 
