One of the grandsons, twelve-year-old Stephen, called me last night. He wanted to know how I was feeling with my breast cancer and hoped I would be okay. I told him I was fine and would be fully cured. He allowed that that was good, then asked whether I wanted to hear about the snail races. Absolutely.

Stephen explained that his brother had set up two tracks for several snails to “run,” one lane with foil and another with sandpaper. It took seven to eight minutes. Eventually, one of the snails did make it to the end of the track. I grinned as he told me all the details in his breathy, little-boy voice. Snail races sounded like a lot of fun.

We talked about the Olympics. Stephen loved watching Shaun White, naturally. As Stephen snowboards, that is what he wants his profession to be. He’s targeting the 2014 winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. That’s great. Goals are good to have.

Stephen told me about his dog, a labradoodle named Indy. The dog is hypoallergenic, he said, which is good because Stephen has a few allergies.

I asked about school, of course. Stephen loves it and his teacher. The best part, he said, is fixing up old bicycles to give away to kids whose parents can’t afford bikes. Stephen and his classmates have learned to spiff up the used bikes pretty well.

“Would you like to hear a fun fact I learned today?” Stephen asked. “The continent of South America is moving at the rate your fingernails grow every day. One day, maybe two billion years from now, South America will be a separate continent.”

That’s pretty cool, Stephen. And so are you, kiddo. So are you.