A's post to Samantha
on the A&Marcy
Admiration board
Date Posted:
03:38:42 06/01/01 Fri
Samantha - I wanted to write this in time
for your special day, but as you can see - I just didn't get it done. I hope you
had a great time. You're entering such a wonderful period of years, now - I
remember their magic well. I have a son slightly older and a daughter slightly
younger than you, so I'm being reminded all over again lately about the
remarkable changes these years will bring. What I remember most clearly from my
own early teens is a sense of being the only guy in town who was truely clueless
about how to be cool. It might have been a guy thing - or it might have been
true - ;-) - but I finally figured out I wasn't the only one who felt that way,
and I try to slip that idea into the conversation whenever I notice my boy
(Cody) or girl (Devon) feeling blue for no apparent reason.
Your post to me was so sweet, and very much appreciated. In fact, I finally got
to read all the wonderful replies that have been posted in response to my visit,
and they just knocked me out. Your mom has done me a favor that's hard to
measure, and to all the folks who've gathered here to send their words of praise
and encouragement, please know - I return your affection with a joyful and
thankful heart. I'm sorry for failing to reply to each of you - there's just no
way right now for me to free up the time. But I'm thinking of your words, and
holding onto your names, and I'll be riding on the energy of your good wishes
well into the future.
When I reached the end of my teens, I noticed my parents were losing their
minds. They started acting stranger and stranger as the time for me to depart
their home drew closer. Its only now, as I look into my son's eyes and realize
I'm no longer tilting my head DOWN to do so, that I realize why my folks seemed
to have gone nuts back then. I was about to leave, and the day is drawing nearer
when he's going to make the same move on me and his mom. When he smiles these
days it reminds me in the most compelling way that I love him so deeply that
words cannot begin to describe how much I'm going to miss him. And our magic
daughter after that. And our other magic daughter after that. How could we have
let this happen?!? It must have been all that FOOD we fed them, that made them
get so big and strong and smart and... independent.
All of which is a long way of suggesting, Samantha, that as you go through these
years and make your journey into adulthood, try to take a moment once in a while
to put yourself in your folks' position, and imagine what it might be like. That
way, if they start to get as nuts as I'm gonna get, you can hold their hands a
little bit on the way. Again, happy birthday, and thank you for speaking so
kindly about yours truly. I hope you have a great, great year.
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