Your first nickname, given to you by Papa, was “joy boy”. Imagine the most amazing sound you’ve ever heard: then multiply it by a million. That’s the delight we have had since we first heard you laugh.
A lot of kids are joyful. But one of your many gifts is how you both derive joy from life and give it: by your smiles, your laughs, your jokes, your stories, your discoveries, your incredible way with words, your creations, your conversations, your questions….
Last week, I took you to a science museum that has a splash pad outside. It’s a little structure where they set up objects that spray or dump water, designed for children to get really wet – which is nice, given we live in a place where summer feels like butter melting in an oven that is never turned off. You ran around this pad – you had it all to yourself – pushing the button that sets the water running. Jets and sprays caught you. And above you, a large pole was shooting water into buckets – it was designed to look like a big green stem arching over into flower petals – that were designed to slowly, slowly fill up and then get so much water in them that they had to tip it alllllll out. You didn’t notice this at first. I didn’t notice this at first. But when that first bucket dumped right in front of you, you looked up with this bright, humongous smile as if to say, “THANK YOU, BUCKET! I LOVED THAT! MORE MORE MORE!” And then you danced away from it and anticipated the next water fall and ran back under it to get the full splash on your upturned face and you still laughed and splashed with joy.
I’m not sure who you will be when you read this: how old you will be, what experiences will have influenced you, what people will tell you about who you are. (And know this: what people tell you about who you are says more about them and the way they are than who you are.) But I can tell you that the soul of you is joy. It was in you from the beginning. Just look at the face of the boy in those pictures. Just imagine the joy he brings to everyone who loves him.
letters to sam 