Happy Birthday To Grandson Sammy
by Bill Gouveia for the Sun Chronicle
I have five grandchildren and I am madly in love with all five.
Over the years I have written about each of them, possibly to the point where you readers have been bored to tears. If so, skip the rest of this because I feel the need to again talk about one of them.
My middle grandchild is force of nature we call Sammy. He’s going to be 5 tomorrow, but it’s hard to remember life before he made his appearance. Of all our grandkids, Sam is the one who keeps everyone on their toes. At the same time, he has taught me so much about life, love, and the value and joy of being yourself.
Sammy is a riot. He is one of the funniest kids I’ve ever met. His humor, like pretty much everything else about him, is part of his basic outlook on life. He lives in the moment. He remembers everything you say, both good and bad. And woe to the poor individual who tries to get something by him.
Sam has some issues which pose obstacles for both him and those who love him. They sometimes manifest themselves in behavioral problems, and that can be disruptive to his development and family. Fortunately, with love and help he is overcoming them.
Sam explained some of his issues to me after he got help with them.
“Grandpa, my brain works a little different from everyone else,” he informed me quite seriously.
When I told him that was OK and just made him even more special, he looked at me like I just didn’t quite get it and patiently said, “Grandpa, I have a diagnosis!”
Sam is smart, and he is stubborn. He doesn’t let go easily and can obsess with the best of them. Of course, that can be said of a lot of kids his age. Or my age.
But Sam has a wit beyond his years. Recently we took him and his two brothers to New Hampshire. At one point, I told Sam he couldn’t do something he wanted (a pretty rare occurrence). Sam was not pleased, but I held firm.
“Grandpa, you are pretty grumpy. You need to go to the senior citizen center and make some new friends,” he informed me with great indignance. Grandma’s laughing didn’t help when I tried to feign anger.
Sammy is tremendously loving and empathetic. If you have been sick, Sam never fails to ask if you are feeling better. He recently took the money the Tooth Fairy left him and donated it (his suggestion) to a fund to help sick kids overseas.
The other day Sam saw something called “The Kindness Rocks Project” and was hooked. He and his brother painted rocks and left them for others because, in his words, “people have bad days and we should be nice.” He is a happy child, and I couldn’t be any prouder of him.
So I want to wish a happy 5th birthday to grandson Sammy. He can’t read this now, but he will someday. And maybe then he’ll understand even more just how special he will always be to me.
Bill Gouveia is a local columnist and proud grandfather of five. He can be emailed at billsinsidelook@gmail.com and followed on Twitter at @Billinsidelook.
No comments:
Post a Comment