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Jack calls via Facetime asking Grandpa if he can come over while big brother Jamie has baseball. Of course you can. I already have first Tuesday of the month dinner plans with a friend. Same day of the month, same time, same dinner, same Bat Channel.

Since I am going out, I suggest Grandpa and Jack go to dinner too and ask Jack for a suggestion. In his t-shirt, shorts, and baseball cap on this sunny eighty-degree day, Jack places his hand on his chin, index finger extended and says, "How about Mr. Paul's?" Not what we were thinking! For those who don't live near me, Mr. Paul's is a family-owned steakhouse which has been around over fifty years. They serve Caesar salad and Chateaubriand tableside which Jack samples for the first time on his mom's birthday last month. Jeff and I had our second date at Mr. Paul's, a time when all the staff wore black tuxes. Same great food, but now suits are the attire.

We have some time to kill before we all leave for our designated dinner spots, so I ask Jack if he would like to paint. The paints are waiting at the table, so we just need some paper and an idea. I suggest the magnetic yellow swallowtail which rests on the shelf. Too difficult he says. As he looks around the room, I see his facial expression suddenly change - a lightbulb has gone off. For years, Jack has been saying "I got an idea". This time without saying it, his eyes light up, and open a bit wider. Quickly he disappears from the room and down the stairs. Since I am much slower getting down the steps, just as I reach the bottom, Jack is already heading back up. Gingerly, he carries the pedestaled Waterford candy dish filled with pastel colored Hershey Kisses. I carry it up the stairs for him and he is ready to begin.

He is thinking diligently about how to create the perfect gray. As he tests colors on scrap paper, he exclaims, "Perfect", and does so numerous times to follow. Mixing intently, calmness and determination get the color just right. He brings out the "Big Daddy" paintbrush, his terminology, to which I laugh because he has named a paintbrush. With the outline complete, he is ready to fill the painting with Kisses, claiming this as the hard part. Alas, it is time to head to dinner and the candies will need to be added next time. Unfortunately, we will need to paint silver wrapped Kisses as all the Easter candy have been eaten one by one.