Sun Truck Coming

“Sun truck come, Mom?” He is looking out the window into the rain-soaked yard. I admire his optimism and what I like to call his persistent reality. In the world of a two year old, if you say it, it will happen. Reminds me of Kevin Costner and his field of dreams. “If you build it, they will come.” I love the belief of a child like Sean, unfettered by disappointment or broken dreams. A little faith goes a long way in a world such as his. Sure, its been raining all night and into the morning and the branches in the crabapple out front are heavy, but he believes his presence at the window and his staccato pronouncement will bring on the sun. It worked for Kevin with Shoeless Joe, so why not a stubborn toddler? And plus, if his version of reality doesn’t surface, he can just sprawl himself on the floor and kick and scream till he gets his way.

I imagine what must go on in his little head when he says “Sun truck come.” Does he picture the UPS man riding in his “chocolate truck”, running to the porches of the sun receivers each day? Or maybe it’s more like the fire truck, hoisting the ladder to raise up the sun or spraying it out of the hose each morning? Perhaps he even pictures the ice cream truck playing “The Sun will Come out Tomorrow” incessantly while children clamor with their wrinkled dollars for a sunny day. He’s really not that far off. The Greeks thought that Helios drove the sun around the sky in a chariot each day, so why couldn’t the sun arrive in a Honda Odyssey these days? The model with the roof rack of course, wouldn’t want the interior to get ray dust all over it.

This summer it seems like the sun truck has been in the shop for repairs a lot. We have had cooler temperatures and cloudier days. But my stubborn son stands at the window repeating his mantra, willing the sun to shine. He needs it for his real dream. “I go pool, Momma. I go pool.” He is a kid with a one-track mind, and he somehow knows that he has a much better shot at the pool on a sunny bright day. He meets a trip to the pool with the same energy he uses to call out the sun. But when the day stays cloudy and he is failing at his day job, don’t put it past him as the sun goes down to mutter his other favorite phrase: “Moon truck come, Momma.” The kid and his reality are something else. I could learn a lot from a two year old.