For The Love Of Hunter

Believe me. Pete has nothing on Hunter.

On Monday, Seth and Sam were outside in the backyard playing with their light sabers. At some point, a neighbor boy who shares our Backyardigan-like common area came over to where they were playing, introduced himself, and then played with both of the boys for awhile. When it was time for dinner, Seth and Sam dominated the conversation gushing over their new friend, Hunter.

At around 7:00 that evening, the doorbell rang. When I opened the door, I found myself staring at a cute, curly-haired boy with dimples.

"Hi. I'm Hunter. I met Seth and Sam outside today. I just wanted to come over and introduce myself."

Every mother's dream, right? I was completely impressed with this very polite boy.

Hunter is in fifth grade so there isn't many opportunities for friendship except in the backyard, after school. Still, that didn't stop Seth and Sam from attempting to scope out their new hero at school. When I picked them up from school on Tuesday, I could only listen as they excitedly told each other about their independent Hunter sightings.

Seth: "I think I saw him in line outside."

Sam: "I saw him! I yelled, "Hunter!" but he didn't notice me. I think I'm too tiny."

In unison: "MOM? CAN WE PLAY WITH HUNTER WHEN WE GET HOME?!"

Of course, homework came first, but I was surprised that as soon as they were done (which was fast as lightning...I've got some sweet motivational tools now), Hunter was outside waiting to play with them as well.

I admit to eavesdropping. Seth is a very enthusiastic friend, and I worry that he'll exhaust this older boy with his eagerness. He clearly has a crush on his new friend. Although, so far, Hunter doesn't seem to mind. He even happily includes Sam (who, by the way, refers to Hunter as his new best friend).

Now, everything comes down to playing with Hunter. Cub scouts on Friday...Seth's former favorite extracurricular activity? "Awww. Do I have to go? I wanted to go home to play with Hunter!"

College football games on Saturday? No...BYU football on Saturday? "I'm going outside to see if Hunter is home from soccer yet." It's amazing. Hours go by without any requests for snacks, watching a Transformer episode, or playing the Wii (which, now that school has started, is only an option on Saturdays). Every minute of their free time has been spent in either hopeful or actual play with our new neighbor friend. In fact, as I'm typing this, I'm listening to my favorite sound in the word - my boys giggling and being genuinely happy while they play. With Hunter, of course. (Written on Saturday evening).

It all began with light sabers - which is still the game of the day.

Truth be told...I think even I have a crush on Hunter!