I call you my Joy! Many may ask why I refer to my eldest as
my pride and my youngest my joy. I have written your elder brother a letter and
now I must write you.
I didn’t expect to
have another beautiful boy so soon after having your brother but I am so thankful
God had different plans. I remember telling your daddy that we were having
another baby and although I was quite nervous, I seen the joy that spread
across his face. You too, were always wanted son! It seemed with son #2 coming all the hype of
having to get this and that and everything done just perfectly, was not
consuming us as with pregnancy #1. I really got to take in and enjoy every move
you made inside my tummy. Even though it would have seemed to be fun to have a
girl and saying that I had one of each, I had an indescribable satisfaction
that I would be blessed with another boy.
The day you were born you brought joy
to so many who came to be a part of your birth date. Being born on Friday 13th
may have triggered thoughts less desirable from onlookers but your momma,
daddy, and brother felt no matter the superstitions, our family received a bundle
of joy that day. They moved you to the NICU for a few days because you aspirated
some fluid and my heart felt so torn as I would visit you in your little
isolette in the back of the nicu. God showed me how thankful I should be as I
passed by those babies weighing only a pound or so when my big boy was holding
his own at 6 pounds 15 ounces. Despite my sadness of brief separation, I was
thankful that my “joy” was being watched so closely not only by the wonderful
staff at UT Hospital but also our Lord who gave you to us. Three days felt like
forever and then we were reunited and we took our joy home. You were such a
good baby and brought joy to each person who was blessed to hold and cuddle
you.
As you grew, so did your personality! You are such a funny young man. I
wish that I had recorded all the funny things you have said. Our family can
agree that we laugh more because of you. Your quick wit and interpretation of
life is so much fun! The way you attempt to hold your humor in during times
that should be serious is especially known to me and sometimes it is all I can
do to not chuckle too. You laugh off trouble and always have a positive way to
problem solve. You are ticklish from head to toe and we all know to get you
right at the base of your neck. All these qualities show me that it is
impossible for you to contain your joy and the rest of us all get to enjoy the
side effects of it. When you were five, we learned that you heart would beat
twice every third beat. It did scare me at first but soon I realized that you
are definitely a child who marches to the beat of your own drum. Momma thinks
you have such a happy heart that it has to throw an extra beat. Sometimes you
notice the extra beat and you say God is talking to you. I feel confident that
you will discern the difference one day when HE knocks to save you. As much as
you delight in the good things of life now, I know you will especially
appreciate the joy of salvation.
Lastly, we are entertained by your
love for numbers. Everything to you results in a math problem. You count the
light bulbs in every room, you audit every money transaction that daddy and
momma makes to be sure its fair, you have known value placement and the
difference of negative and positive numbers since you were four years old, you
like even numbers of pieces of food on your plate and no one dares to half
something with you because only you can tell its uneven, you count the letters
in each word to help you remember your spelling, you even use numbers in your philosophy
when getting angry with your brother. You called him a nobody one day and when
I discouraged you from saying that, then you counter challenged by saying: “okay
then, he is a negative ‘somebody’ and a positive nobody” and we all got a big
kick out of how profound your thinking was. You say that you aspire to be an
engineer so you can use your love of numbers and design bridges…There is no
doubt in my mind that you will do just that or whatever you set your mind to!
Son, we enjoy watching you grow! You are very tough on the outside but you
could never hide the evidence of being a “mommas boy” on the inside and for
that I call you my “Joy.”
Mom
Written by sstansberry on 10-01-13
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