The Golden BIrthday Boy

Today is Landon's 8th birthday!

What a special grandson!

We celebrated with him yesterday, continuing a tradition we began with his sister Tessa on her 5th birthday by taking her out for lunch, all by herself, at her choice of restaurants.

Because they were going to Olive Garden that evening (his first choice), we dined at his second choice, McAlisters.  He really wanted to go to a toy store and search for another toy, but he was placated with a promise that AFTER his family birthday party next weekend, we would go and he could select something.  We also promised him going to a movie (Papaw's idea).  So instead we went to Pink Walrus for ice cream which was a very good choice.  It was so good, plus he had so much fun with the toppings and even better, because it was his birthday there was $5 off the total price!

Even though Landon's actual arrival in our family didn't happen until February 17, I still have memories of the day he was born.  Dad had died on Dec. 31.  We had returned from Ohio, and I had been 'in charge' of the Adjunct Orientation on January 7.  After that I was told by Kevin, Kim, and Tom to stay home and adjust.  I didn't need to be on campus the next day.  So I did.  I stayed home.

I remember sitting in Gary's recliner. Crying.  Missing Dad.  Wondering how we would 'do life with Mom' without him to block, intercede, pacify her.  Being thankful that he wasn't in pain from the effects of mesothelioma, but still remembering the last pictures I had of him with dry, cracked lips, gasping for breath, gripping my hand in his as Gary fed him ice chips to soothe the parched dryness. I cried.

Then it seemed like a weight lifted.  Suddenly I felt better, like life would go on. Something happened to help me see that there was a future out there without Dad's guidance and it would be ok.

Later, at the end of January, we learned that our grandson was born on January 8.

I have told this story many times, and I really believe in its significance.  As my students gathered in the hallway outside my office one day to see the pictures I had on my computer screen of our new grandson, one student spoke up after all of the 'He is adorable' and "How cute he is" and "ahhhh" had dissipated.  She said, "I know what happened, Mrs. S.  When your dad died on Dec. 31, he went to heaven and talked to God and said "Well, God, my granddaughter needs a baby.  What are we going to do about it?"  and a week later Landon was born."  I really believe that happened.  I know God has a plan, but I believe that Dad knew too.  I believe that Dad had a hand in placing Landon in our family.

That makes it even more special when Landon seems to know what Dad was like.  When he gestures like he did or spouts off with a phrase that Dad used.  The most significant to me is seeing him sitting at Dad's drafting table in the basement in Wooster, light on overhead, just like Dad did, and intently working on a project.  When he asked Greta and me if he could have the table and chair for his room is something I will always remember - a tie to a great man that he never knew in person on this earth, but whose influence was instilled in him.

No, I don't remember standing in the hospital the day Landon was born, waiting for his arrival.  I didn't hold him in my arms when he was just hours old.  But he was born in my heart that day, and the moments we first learned of him (when Hilary and Blaine told us at Red Lobster), preparing for his arrival (shopping in Merrillville, driving past the house where his foster parents lived, decorating his nursery), and the first time we saw him (in the living room at Leo and Agnes' house on Feb. 17) will stay in my memory forever.

Happy Birthday to our first grandson.  You are special in so many ways...and loved more than you will ever know.