The THEN: For a while now, anytime a birthday has approached or Christmas time has come, my mom has taken Wes out, just the two of them, to buy a present for me. She has found though that she has had to gently guide him in his purchasing decisions because he tends to want to buy me weapons or super hero figurines. My mom would ask, “Do you really think your mom would like this?” “Oohhhhhh yes, I know she would” would be his reply. Privately, she would laugh a little about it and then she would sweetly steer him towards something different. He would always decide later that the gift that he and my mom picked out was a good one and he would be satisfied. The NOW: Friday, August 25, 2:45 pm I had just dropped my kids off at music class and had sat down in my desk chair to work on a few lesson plans. The door pops open and in walks Wesley from his classroom next door. He has this half smile on his face and walks towards me while holding his hands behind his back