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Eight
By Margot | July 14, 2008
Sam turned eight today. He had a big weekend. Cupcakes and two baskets at Friday night’s basketball game, lunch out with Dad yesterday, laser tag party yesterday afternoon, home for a late night swim with his brothers and all his new pool toys and today, we went up to family day at the park where he went down the slip and slide, ran up and down the hill, got his face painted and went in the jumpy with Charlie. Tonight we had the Monacos and Brunettes over for a swim and cake number two. As I was putting a very sleepy Sam to bed tonight I asked him what his favorite part was and he said it was getting early to the park before the line started and he and Andrew going down the the water slide a million times, sitting next to me and Dad on the blanket, and laser tag yesterday. My favorite part of his birthday weekend was building one of his legos with him last night after his brothers had gone to bed and working with him at the crafts table today up at the park. At the crafts table, he was so carefully coloring a beach ball and I was helping him when he stopped and reached for a marker that he’d noticed a little three year-old stretching for, gently handed it to her without saying a word and went back to his coloring. I hadn’t even noticed her reaching but Sam did. It was a simple thing anyone would do, but it just filled me up. Neil is asleep or I’d ask him his favorite part but I’m thinking he loved his lunch out with Sam, laser tag and playing with the kids in the pool tonight. Thanks to everyone who helped make Sammy’s birthday fun. We’ll put up some pics soon.
We had an extra spot for laser tag so Neil was able to do it too. He rallied all the kids and got them to taunt the other 13 year-old party they were playing against (Neil said they showed no mercy – I was out waiting in the party room with Charlie and Grandma and Lisa, Julie and Jennifer (moms who stayed) and Samantha who had broken her foot so hung out with us until cake time. It was a good thing that Neil was in there because he said Andy was pretty terrified in the beginning until he got into it and started jumping out from behind the corners. Andy, by the way, is still telling everyone he sees how we “tricked them” into believing he was seven so he could play. Oh, I hope that he doesn’t turn out to be a famous con-artist who tells people, “It all started when I was able to trick the laser tag people.” It was great to see Sam with such a huge smile on his face all weekend. He really had fun at his party with all of his friends. He had a lot of energy and aside from only being able to take about two bites of each cake before his tummy hurt, and stepping on a bee today at the park, he thoroughly enjoyed his birthday weekend. He and Andy were great to watch on the water slide, they’d start running from way back and take flying leaps onto it and scream down the hill on their tummies. Charlie was a maniac in the jumpy and did not want to get out.
Eight will be times tables and cursive. It will be moving up to the 8-10 leagues in sports. It will be helping his little brother Andrew navigate elementary school and watching his little brother Charlie get rid of “dipes” and into big boy undies (we hope). It will be laughing his infectious laugh at things he finds funny and using his master negotiating skills to get out of tasks unpleasant. It will be unforseen moments of joy and new understading of many different things. It will be all of this with cancer but it will not be all about cancer. God, please give us all of Eight. And then, we will come back and ask for all of Nine……
Topics: Progress Reports | 9 Comments »
July 14th, 2008 at 6:04 am
Happy Birthday Sam! It sounds like you had a really fun weekend.
Love, Mrs. Heather
July 14th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Happy Birthday Sam. And many more.
Cheers,
Doug, A.K.A Laurel
July 14th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Sounds like Sam had an amazing birthday… Happy, happy birthday, Sam! Praying for a great eight!
PS It was nice to meet Neil at Max’s bday bash.
July 14th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
Happy Birthday Sam – Great Eight!
July 15th, 2008 at 12:24 am
Absolutely ALL of EIGHT, and beyond!
Thanks for letting us share the birthday weekend.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Happy belated birthday Sam! Sorry we couldn’t make it to your party, but we’ve got an awesome present for you and will get it to you this week!
You couldn’t have summed it up better, one year, one month, one day at a time.
July 15th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
What a wonderful day, so filled with fun for everyone. Your writing is so wonderful, Margot, and sharing your deepest joys and worries is so generous of you. Your wish for a great 8 and a fine 9 and a perfect 10…will be conveyed to the Lord with my most fervent prayers.
Love to all the West Coast Hutchisons…from your East Coast cousin.
July 16th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Hi,Sam. Sorry I couldn’t make it to your birthday but we got an awesome present for you. I will have my mom call your mom next week sometime. I lost another tooth. love, Natalie
July 19th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
Happy Birthday Sam! We never realized that you were 3 days younger than Emily and MaryGrace. WOW!! Emily had her 1st birthday in Heaven, MaryGrace also turned 8, here on earth. It sounds like you had a great day. We continue to think of you, and hope all is well.
Love,
The Adamson Family
Diane, David, MaryGrace, and our angel ^Emily^
http://www.caringbridge.org/fl/emilyadamson