Dear Hunter,
Today you are nine years old. Nine years of life with you has been rich and
full. Here’s a little bit about
nine-year-old you.
You are our sports-loving boy. This past year you played T-ball, travel
baseball, flag football, and basketball. If you aren’t at an official sports practice
or game, you are probably outside in the backyard or at a nearby park or across
the street in the grassy field practicing or playing something or other. You love to compete. And you hate to lose. If teams are unfair that’s a major struggle
for you. Your skill level in most sports
is quite good, but it’s your intensity and competitiveness that makes you a
great member of any team. You always try
extremely hard. It’s fun to watch you
give 100% in every play.
You love all things farming.
If you are not crawling around on the floor making giant fields out of
our living room, you are probably playing a farming simulation game. You love to “talk” tractors and implements. Your favorite kind of tractor is Farmall or
International. I try to keep up, but
your farming expertise surpasses this farm-girl’s knowledge pretty
quickly.
You also love your stuffed animals. There are a few of your “friends” who come to
visit me each and every morning during my devotions and while you eat
breakfast. Every one of these little
friends has a special and unique personality.
I was much the same way when I was a kid. You think of these animals as having actual
feelings and it is deeply offensive to you when someone treats them disrespectfully.
You enjoy reading graphic novels and have quite the
collection of Dog Man and Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. Your laughter at some of that boy humor is
contagious. Better yet is when you try
to read the funny parts to us, but you can hardly make it through because you
are giggling so much.
You are a good student, and you get good grades. You have a neat group of friends. You love snacks and gaming on a tablet. You don’t care much for movies or board
games. You love cows, pigs and especially
tigers. You took the swim test and went
off the diving boards this summer. Days
at a farm are your favorite. You run
really really fast. You are extremely
independent.
There are times you really love to tease and its hilarious. But you still hate to be laughed at. For the most part your sisters understand and
respect that. You get along well with
Reagan and pretty good with Maddie. They
play a lot less than they used to and that has been a change for you. Finding something to do by yourself is a big
part of your life now.
This has been a year of a lot of adjustments. When you turned 8, all four of your
grandparents were here with us to celebrate.
And this year, one very important person will not be here. You see, it wouldn’t be possible to write
this birthday letter to you without mentioning the loss of one of the most
important people in your life. The
prayer journal from your 2nd grade year contained countless prayers
for God to heal your Grandpa from his cancer.
As I read through them at the end of the school year, I tried to brace
myself for the February prayers – the ones that followed Grandpa’s
passing. Not much could have prepared me
for the heartfelt prayer I read. You
wrote that you were so glad that Grandpa was in heaven. I am always aware that your love for your
Grandpa runs deep and eternal.
Somehow you handled the funeral with a gentle, but sad
strength. In the weeks after, we hung up
a picture we had taken of the two of you just before he had passed. I asked you where you wanted me to hang it
and you touched the wall right next to where you sleep in your bed. There are some nights when I go to tuck you
in and find you in tears because you miss him.
And we have quiet talks then about who he was and how much he loved you
and how glad we are that we will see him again.
At the end of October, we had the big farm equipment
sale. I spent a lot of time worrying about
how you would handle that day. Selling
and auctioning off Grandpa’s belongings seemed like it could be upsetting. But you were absolutely determined and
focused on seeing the whole thing through.
I took you to get your own bidding number that morning. We took a million pictures of you with
Grandpa’s things. We set aside a set of
tools for you so that you could have some keepsakes. And then the auction began. You watched every single second of the whole
day. There was not a single thing you
missed. You wouldn’t even go inside to
eat lunch. You sat out on the deck to
keep an eye on things. All 7 hours you
were out there, listening and watching and observing. It made me so proud of you, Hunter. You never once complained. You never seemed to get tired of any of
it. You had a smile on your face as you
observed. It was like seeing Grandpa as
an 8-year-old boy. You are like him in
many ways, and I love that you love him so…even still.
Its not easy to learn the hard lessons of loss as an 8-year-old. But I am so thankful that you are also
learning that death is not the end for those who love Jesus. Your Grandpa was, and would be still, so very
proud of the boy you are becoming. You
could add up all of the love from all of the people who love you, and it still
would be only the smallest fraction of how much Jesus loves you.
You are a dearly loved, wonderfully created, and preciously held
little boy.
Happy Birthday Hunter!
I love you so!
Love,
Mom
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