Happy birthday, Reagan! How are you FIVE already? It just doesn’t seem possible.
You sure have grown up a lot this year — and I don’t just mean needing bigger clothes (although that is definitely true too!)! You’ve shown a lot of maturity and growth, and I’m always proud of who you are, and the way you conduct yourself.
A few things about you: You LOVE to be in the kitchen, and have started occasionally helping Mommy make meals, in addition to your awesome baking skills. We started making pizza together every Friday night, and it’s one of my favorite things we do together.
You love super heroes and Star Wars (which your Daddy introduced you to). You love going to church, and seeing all your friends, including Lauren, Pax, Claire, Jack, and so many others.
You now go to preschool three days a week, and while I know you love it, I sure do miss you when you’re gone.
You love spending time with Aunt Tracy, Daniel (and Grace), Oma, Poppy and Gran Jan, and of course you love getting spoiled by Uncle Mike, Aunt Dawn and Hunter when we go to Pennsylvania.
Of course, the BIG news of the year is that you became a big brother! At the end of August, we flew to India to adopt your little sister, Marella Hope Grace Thompson. I have to be honest with you about something: you really, really, really surprised me. I mean, I knew you were special, and I knew you were a great traveler, but I never expected you would handle the trip as well as you did!
To recap: on a Sunday, we flew from Nashville to Chicago to Newark to Delhi, with the final flight being 14 hours, and you handled it like a CHAMP. By the time we landed in Delhi, it was Monday night, and then we got our luggage, got our ride, and drove to our hotel, about 20 minutes away. The roads, the sights, the sounds — everything is different in India — but you just sat contentedly in the car, and then took a shower and went right to sleep. We spent one full day relaxing in India, and then on Tuesday, we drove back to the airport, got on another plane, and then drove to another hotel, where we slept one night, and got up early the next morning (like 5:00 AM early) and drove four hours to the orphanage, to GET YOUR SISTER.
When you tell people the story, you say, “Marella didn’t want Mommy or Daddy when we met her; she only wanted me.” And you know what, buddy? You are ABSOLUTELY right. She did!! When we got to the orphanage, Marella ran away from us, screaming “No! No! No!” but went RIGHT to you.
We spent a couple hours in the orphanage, picked her up, drove four hours back to the hotel, and got on a plane the next day to fly back to Delhi, where we met Mr. Steve and Miss Joyce, and hung out for a week. In that week, we got to know your sister, but Daddy and Marella and I had to be gone part of almost every day, so you also spent a lot of time with Mr. Steve and Miss Joyce, doing school work, swimming, walking in the adjacent mall, playing. You also spent a lot of time in our hotel room, with a little girl who didn’t know who we were. And again, you handled it so well. I tear up thinking about it every time.
And then, we got on a plane, while Mommy was so, so sick, flew 14 hours back, had a 12-hour layover, and then spent another three hours on a plane, before we finally got home. And I can say for certain, you really are the BEST traveler in the entire world. I can’t get over how well you did. I’m SO proud of you.
Of course, it’s been an adjustment learning to share your toys, have someone else need Mommy and Daddy sometimes, and no longer get all of the attention. But Reagan, you are handling it so well! Yes, you have moments when you fight, but those moments are pretty uncommon. And she still loves you best, I think. When I get her up in the morning, you like to come with me, and she always wants to greet you first. You also tuck her in with me every night, and say prayers with her. You play with her when I know you’d rather not sometimes, and you even have offered to take her upstairs to play when Mommy has work she needs to get done.
Through it all, you’ve shown us what a great young man you are. I’m in awe of how well you have handled so much of the transitions this last year.
You say you want to be a firefighter or a cop someday, and while that might change 100 times between now and when you grow up, I know one thing: whatever you want to do, you will do it with excellence.
I’m going to let you in on a little secret, ok? Almost every night, when you go to bed, you make sure I’m going to check on you before I go to bed. Well, I have to tell you something — I would do that anyway. I like to peek in on you and watch you sleep. If you’re really asleep, I sometimes go and sit by your bed, and watch you while you’re sleeping. You’re growing so fast, but in those moments I can pretend, if only for a moment or two, that you’re still my baby.
Now that you’re five, I’m starting to realize how quickly time is flying by. If the next few years go as fast as the last five have, I feel like you’ll be going to college in a nanosecond. It’s made me think about what I want for you, what my hopes and wishes and dreams are for you. Of course, I hope that you love Jesus, have a good job, have a lot of friends, and are responsible with the money you make.
But I realized that one of the things I wish for you is that you leave me (but always come back for lots of visits). Don’t get me wrong — it will break my heart. But you gain so much more of a world view when you leave your hometown — not just for visits and vacations, but to immerse yourself in another culture. Whether it’s another state or another country, I hope Daddy and I give you wings enough so you feel confident enough to venture out on your own someday. I don’t want you to be another version of me — I want you to be the person God created you to be.
I love you, John Reagan Patterson Thompson. So much. SO MUCH! I love watching you learn, and grow. I love watching you interact with your friends. I love watching you interact with grown-ups. I love watching you. I’m so, so glad I get to be your Mommy.
Happy birthday, sweet boy. I love you to the moon and back, times ten million.
