I truly cannot believe you are already nine and halfway to being an adult! They say "time flies when you're having fun," and it really rings true when I think about how much fun the last nine years have been and how quickly they have gone by! I love being your mom, and I'm so thankful to have you in my life. You make me smile every day, and you inspire me to continue to strive to be a better person. I love your sweet hugs, your happy disposition, you fabulous sense of adventure, your incredible imagination, your unfailing curiosity, and your deep love. You are an absolute joy, and every day with you feels like a special gift!
This year has brought some difficult changes to your life, but you have taken them all in stride, and I'm proud of your bravery and resilience. Change is always hard, and no one ever really wants to go through hard things, but usually the hard things in life make us stronger, and I believe you have an opportunity to grow in unique ways as a result of the challenges you have faced.
Last summer, we had the opportunity to spend some time in the Florida Keys and in Barbados. And even though you ended up with a terrible sunburn, you loved finding treasures on the beaches and riding around in our cute little open-air vehicle, even when we got caught in a major rain storm. You and I also got to spend some time together on our own after that trip, while everyone else was busy with other activities. We did some cool things together in DFW and also made a trip to Granny's and a trip to Nana's. Later in the summer, you and your brothers and me took a road trip to Washington D.C. On the way, we stopped to see the gigantic Bass Pro Shop in Memphis, visited the Corvette Museum and Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, and toured Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello, in Virginia. We spent the 4th of July in the nation's capital, which was really a special experience. We also visited several of the wonderful museums in D.C. but your favorite, by far, was the Spy Museum. On our return trip, we stopped at the Louisville Slugger Museum, which you enjoyed tremendously. You were especially impressed with the 120 foot tall baseball bat the greeted us when we arrived. You and Ruth and I traveled back to D.C. by plane a few weeks later to attend Dad's flag ceremony. And then you spent some time out at Campmeeting. Somehow, you also found the time to attend a week of Cake Camp, which you really loved. It was a pretty amazing summer, full of lots of wonderful memories!
You continued doing homeschool and Arrow this year for school, and you had a very successful year. You are so very smart and are able to accomplish anything you put your mind to. We switched to Khan Academy classes for math and grammar halfway through the year, and you enjoyed getting to do those lessons on the computer. You also loved the DIY Science videos we found and some of the cool science experiments we did. We did realize early in the school year that your eyes were getting fatigued when you would read, which led us down a path of several months of vision therapy. We found out your eyes weren't really having a problem, but your brain was having trouble processing what you were asking it to do. You worked very hard with Ms. Debby and just recently passed your re-evaluation, so you don't have to do the therapy any more and reading has become much easier for you. But even though you enjoy reading books, your favorite thing is listening to audiobooks. Among other stories, you listened to all the Harry Potter books this year (and rewatched all the movies), which inspired the theme for your birthday party.
During this school year, you continued to participate with Cub Scouts, though we switched to a pack that seems to be a better fit for us. You and I had fun building your Pinewood Derby car and attending the Blue and Gold banquet together.
You moved into your "little apartment" (my closet) early in the school year, and you really love having your own private place. In fact, I recently asked if you were looking forward to moving out and into one of the other rooms when Ruth goes off to college at the end of the summer, and you told me you thought you like to just stay because it's just so cozy.
We spent Thanksgiving at the ranch with Mimi and Grandpa and Christmas in Lake Tahoe with them as well as Alan and Bekki and the girls. And you spent the first week of the new year at Nana and Papa's. You are blessed to have so many people in your life who love you dearly and who you love in return!
During Spring Break, you and Weston and me went to Tyler and stayed at the Jellystone Campground for several days. We had a blast learning to play pickleball, jumping on the giant pillow, trying to start a campfire, making tie-dye shirts, and enjoying being in nature. You and I also hiked in Tyler State park, where we found an "army or turtles," a sneaky snake, and tried our best to locate a beaver. The park was beautiful, but seeing it through your eyes was a real treat.
Right after Spring Break, our world got turned upside down by the Covid-19 (Corona) virus. We suddenly found ourselves under "stay at home" directives, and all the schools, activities, playgrounds, and most of the businesses shut down. We didn't leave our house for a couple of months, and certain things like meat and toilet paper (to name only a couple) became hard to get at the stores. It was weird and disappointing in some ways, but we also had some really great times and made some wonderful memories. We did chalk art and regular art, went on nature scavenger hunts, cooked and baked lots of yummy food, watched lots of movies/tv shows/videos, played tons of games, learned to use Zoom, and participated in lots of video chats. The world is opening up little by little now, but we are still certainly not back to what we would think of as normal. We had to make lots of adjustments during this crazy period, but as always, you have just rolled with it.
Clay, you are my favorite nine-year old! I adore listening to your stories, seeing all the weapons you invent, watching you become completely immersed in an imaginary world of play, experiencing all your new kinds of hugs, and observing a rare kindness and love in you that few people possess. You are an absolute treasure, and I'm not sure how I was lucky enough to be picked to be your mom, but I'm thankful that I was. Happy birthday, sweet boy! I love you more than words can say!
Love,
Mom
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