Happy birthday, sweet boy! How in the world are you NINE?? That does not even seem possible. This is the last year your age is in the single digits, and I am not necessarily happy about that.
And what a year your last year was, for all of us. Honestly, Daddy and I are so impressed at how well you handled all the changes and adjustments that last year brought us. It was a year ago that all of our world started shutting down. I still very vividly remember Daddy and I having to tell you that both your birthday party and our trip to Gatlinburg had to be postponed because life was weird and strange and everything felt unsafe.
Since then you have endured virtual school, wearing a mask, not being able to go as many places, having too many of your favorite events canceled, and the list could go on and on. You have shown yourself to be brave and mature in the face of all of it, and I am VERY proud of you. Very.
You have grown, physically, SO much this year. I look at pictures of you from a year ago, and I’m stunned. You also eat like a grown man, and our days of feeding you from the kids menu are long gone.. Thankfully, you like fruit and veggies … along with sweets. You still love being in the kitchen, and are seriously a big help! A few months ago I was trying to get a lot done at once, and asked you to come make me a spice rub for the pork chops. You knew exactly what to do, and it was perfect.
You are in THIRD grade this year (WHAT???) with Mr. Benson, and you love all of it — especially all of the music he teaches you. You excel in school, in a big, big way, and we are so proud of how hard you work.
You haven’t been able to do as much at church this year, which has been really hard on you. There haven’t been any kids programs at church, and there wasn’t any church camp or Vacation Bible School. You do get to do Royal Rangers at home, which is fun, but not the same.
We did get to have a weekend in Lexington over the summer, which was super fun. We usually just go for one night when your sister meets with her orthopedist, but this time we went for two nights, and got to explore Lexington, which was a BLAST. We had ice cream. We ate in a restaurant. We watched movies in our hotel room. We swam in the FREEZING hotel pool. We went to a children’s museum. It was a weekend to remember, for sure.
We got to spend several days in Florida, and that was a lot of fun, too. We swam, and swam, and swam and SWAM. We ate a bunch of food. We went miniature golfing, and you somehow convinced Daddy and I to let you and your sister have ice cream BEFORE dinner. You also got to spend some time with Miss Joan, Gran Jan’s friend, and I know you loved it (and the ice cream money and goodies she gave you for our trip back).
We got to go to Pennsylvania right after Christmas, and you always love being there! You have such a special relationship with Aunt Dawn and Uncle Mike, and I love seeing you spend time with them.
One of the hardest things we’ve had to deal with, besides the effect of COVID-19, is finding out Gran Jan has ALS. She is so precious to you — to all of us — and we have had to answer some hard questions about her health. We were supposed to be in PA for Thanksgiving, but had to change those plans at the last minute. That meant we got to spend Thanksgiving with Poppy and Gran Jan, and it’s a memory I will always, always cherish. Watching you spend time with her, even as she lost her ability to speak and lost her strength, has shown me the kind of man you will become. I’m so proud of your gentleness with her, and with everyone, really. The prayer you prayed over her recently while in her room was simply beautiful. You have such a gift with people. I can’t wait to see how God is going to use it.
You got to be in your first wedding this year, when your cousin Daniel married Grace. You did such a great job! Also I became the first person you slow-danced with, at the reception, and you sure loved to dance! I sure love spending time with you.
You started to play basketball and guitar this year too! Basketball season is over, but you are still taking guitar lessons, and seem to really enjoy it. I’m so proud of you for trying new things!
Of course, the best part of last year was getting BRUCE, our new puppy. When you turned 8, we told you that you were old enough for a dog. We looked, and looked, and looked, and applied for a bunch of dogs that didn’t work out. When I applied for Bruce, we didn’t even tell you, because I didn’t want you to be disappointed again. So being able to surprise you with him after school was as much fun for me as it was for you — maybe more. You’ve taken such good care of him, walking him even in the rain. (We do need to work on you cleaning up his messes in the house though …).
We had to have a really hard conversation about Gran Jan right after we got Bruce. While I know the wait for him was hard, I feel like maybe God’s timing was perfect.
Reagan Thompson, I love you so much. You have such a sweet, sweet spirit, and I’m in awe of you often. You are a beautiful child of God, and it’s an honor to be your mother, and have a front-row seat in watching your life unfold.
I’ll love you forever. I’ll like you for always. As long as I’m living, my baby you’ll be.
Love always,
Mama
