I had the great pleasure of taking some pre-baptism pictures of Tyler. Posting these reminded me of some journal entries LeGrand wrote that described Tyler perfectly.
The following exerpts are taken from LeGrand's journal. He was recouperating from cancer and chemotherapy and living in Florida with Mike and Em. Tyler was three at the time.
"Tyler won my heart forever.
His sensitive, thoughtful, helpful nature is absolutely unreal for a
3-year old. He must have been told that
my feet were sore. The very first day
here, Tyler came into my bedroom and pulled the lever to elevate my feet in my
lazy-boy recliner. He then proceeded to
unlace my shoes and tug them off. He
explained that he needed to give me a “foot massage.” He took a small bottle of lotion, poured some
in his hands, and began to kneed my feet in a most professional manner. It might have been the cutest, unsolicited
kindness a small child ever thought of."
"I came to learn that this is very normal behavior for Tyler. He literally checked on me several times a day to ask if he could help keep me happy. He made my bed with me every morning. He mixed vitamins in my cereal or applesauce, loaded my clothes in the washer or dryer, folded my laundry, helped me shave and reminded me to brush my teeth. I dozed off one afternoon on the couch in the living room. I awoke to the soothing feel of a comb in my hair and a “clicking” sound. Tyler smiled at me with his mother’s haircutting scissors in one hand her comb in the other. “Grandpa, I thought you needed a haircut,” he announced. "
"Mike and Em put a small refrigerator in my bedroom. Tyler reminded his mother every time they went shopping to replenish our supply of bottled water and lemonade Gatorade. As soon as they unloaded the car, I would find Tyler in my room stocking the fridge. It was quite an effort for him to pull the bottles out of the plastic rings that held them together. However, he never quit until the job was finished and his mess cleaned up. Tyler then came to me every day carrying one of our drinks announcing that it was time for our “refreshing beverage.”
"Of course, having grown up with Mike, any project involving construction or mechanics is Tyler’s forte. He helped me install a garage door opener, a new DVD player and some electrical plugs and switches. In every case he actually helped—inserting screws and wires I couldn’t reach, holding cords, handing me the perfect tool every time. Remember, he is three! He likes to take naps with me, cuddle at night, sing to me, and rub my feet. I love ‘ole Tyler. He really has a knack of getting into your heart."
