Hangin' With Hank

Since my last writing, I’ve fallen in love. His name is Hank and he recently turned one. He has soft blonde hair and huge eyes, and a smile that melts your heart.

I’ve been baby-crushing on Hank since I met his parents, Jeremy and Melissa, at a fundraising dinner early in my Carbondale days. Hank tried to eat my microphone. I think he likes radio.

As far as babies go, Hank is pretty awesome. He’s almost always laughing, sticking out his tongue and opening his eyes really wide. A very happy child. Melissa tells me he screamed for the first few weeks of his life, so maybe he got it all out.

Jeremy and Melissa are awesome too - they live just at the end of my street. Jeremy works at the Colorado Rocky Mountain School, which is a local alternative high school. Melissa works at the library and is taking some classes. Last Sunday, the four of us went out for brunch at Ella on Main Street. Hank entertained us, and the staff, in his adorable khaki cargos and nylon vest. And I offered to hang with Hank Monday night for an hour while Jeremy went to a meeting and Melissa was still at work.

By the time I got to their house, I had been through five hours of public hearing at the Garfield County Commissioners’ meeting. (See previous posts, re: commissioners who wear cowboy boots and rodeo belt buckles) After tense talk about oil development, I was ready for some kid time. Hank greeted me with a big grin. Jeremy and I chatted for a while and Hank amused himself by petting the cat, Scrabble, and laughing. I felt better already.

Just before Jeremy left for his meeting, he deposited Hank in the toy box to "toy surf." He said he’d never done that before. But Hank loved it. He flailed around a little bit, then arranged himself in a seated positionwith a variety of toys around him. And proceeded to stay there for 50 minutes. I tried to cajole him to come back and play on the carpet or the play mat. Nope. I’m fine here with my talking Backyardigans guitar and my stuffed giraffe, thanks. Oh, is that my toy cell phone ringing? I’m sorry, I should really take this call.

It should be stated that the toy box is huge - about the size of an old-school steamer chest, but made of kid-friendly plastic by Playskool or a similar outfit. And Hank stayed in of his own free will. It was pretty excellent.

And a good reminder that sometimes the simplest things can make you the happiest. After an hour with Hank, I felt better by leaps and bounds. Maybe Jeremy and Melissa will let me take him to the park next time. I bet he’ll like the swings as much as I do.