Short and sweet Nick story.

My child and his level of intelligence and empathy are things about him that often impress me, but the story I am about to share took me aback and made me really appreciate those qualities he has.

Some back story here first:  My son was very close to my mom and he spent a great deal of time at her house from the time he was born until she passed when he was 6.  She had made me promise not to bring him around her when she was really sick and out of it due to being overly medicated and I didn't.  The last time he went with me to her house was the week before she passed and she was having a relatively good day.  We didn't stay long and he hasn't been back to where she lived since then.

Nick is obsessed with Google Earth and has been using it to navigate all over our immediate area.  He likes to show me where the restaurants and grocery stores he likes to go to are and will continuously point them out to me until I take him to those places.   He can make his way through that app much better than I can and often finds places that I've never been to. 

Today he was using it on my phone and I noticed he was on the street that is close to where my mom lived but I didn't really think much about it.  I did wonder how he knew how to get there from where we live because it's not a straight shot at all.  Next thing I know his Daddy is standing behind him looking at where he ended up with a surprised look on his face.  He had found his way to her house and what was on the screen was a Google Earth shot of the gate in front of the complex where my mom lived.

It's been over four years since she passed and the last time he went over there and yet he found it going by memory and looking at landmarks along the way as a guide to how to get there.  I teared up when I saw the picture on his phone and told him I was so impressed he found it.  I asked him who used to live there and he said, "Na", his word for my mom. More tears.  He saw my reaction and reached out and gave me a rub on my cheek and blew me a kiss.  He has a memory like an elephant so perhaps I shouldn't have been all too surprised but I was.

I still have goosebumps thinking of it.  My brilliant boy.