Mr. Patterson

MR. PATTERSON

It was the Fall of my 59th year when I met him. He didn't have alot of hair and he wasn't very tall. When he smiled, he didn't have all of his teeth. With knitted brow and a slight Elvis Presley lip, he studied me and finally, gave me a half-way grin.I didn't realize it right away but I was smitten with him, immediately. We held hands and smiled; we made eye contact and I knew......this one was different; this one was special.

As we spent more time together and grew to build trust and contentment, we also became friends. He was easy to love.He was fascinated with birds outside the window pane; he loved to be outside in the snow. Not afraid of animals, he especially loved dogs. Music and the love he has for books, will content him in life if and when all else does not.

He used to like to hear me read aloud so I read to him every chance we got. I like to sing so when he heard me humming to myself, I noticed he would move his body to the sound of the melody. He'd smile with that 'almost' toothless grin and we shared a bond. It was Christmas and so we sang many happy holiday tunes.

The weeks turned into months and at the end of the third month, I knew it was time to say good-bye. He was moving away to another province and distance would dictate our fate.

It was a very cold, snowy Sunday when I last saw him. As was our usual routine, I held him close to me as I read and then sang some of his favourite songs. I began to weep, quietly and silently as I sang one last song "You are my sunshine".

As I saw his beautiful eyes begin to close in slumber, I wanted to awaken him. I wasn't ready to never see those eyes again, looking at me with humour, intelligence, respect and love.

But he was fast asleep in my arms. I softly kissed his warm cheek, put his pacifier in his mouth and gently laid his tiny body down in his crib. Then I covered him up with his soft, baby blankets, shut the door and walked out of his life."Hutton" was just a baby but for a few months, he was mine.

"Good-bye, my precious one; I love you, Hutton Patterson."