A Day to Remember
In August 1996, Ryan looked through the open door of the three-year-old preschool room at Stix Early Childhood Center, saw the wooden kitchen and telephone booth his size, saw a roomful of more children his age than he had ever seen before, cubbys, crayons, storybooks, and two of the most gentle and loving teachers I've ever seen. He walked in wide-eyed and never looked back. He got to operate his first computer, make macaroni pictures, say the Pledge of Allegiance, practice his printing (his name always covered the entire page), and meet the girl who would become his first girlfriend at the later age of seven.
He survived two bouts of near-fatal infections in two months a few years later (all praises to his pediatrician, Dr. Patricia Wolff, and the physicians and staff at St. Louis Children's Hospital, who saved his life. Today he a strapping young man, participating in half-marathons, and strong as a bull.
Today is his first day of college.
Words cannot express the pride I feel in him. nilajean and I worked hard to raise him right, but we couldn't have if he hadn't been good in heart from the beginning of his life. He wants to earn a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology so that he can save injured humans, a change-over from his youthful desire to be a veterinarian and save injured animals.
As Stan Lee said, "With great power comes great responsibility." He's ready for that. And as Stan also said, "Excelsior!"
He survived two bouts of near-fatal infections in two months a few years later (all praises to his pediatrician, Dr. Patricia Wolff, and the physicians and staff at St. Louis Children's Hospital, who saved his life. Today he a strapping young man, participating in half-marathons, and strong as a bull.
Today is his first day of college.
Words cannot express the pride I feel in him. nilajean and I worked hard to raise him right, but we couldn't have if he hadn't been good in heart from the beginning of his life. He wants to earn a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology so that he can save injured humans, a change-over from his youthful desire to be a veterinarian and save injured animals.
As Stan Lee said, "With great power comes great responsibility." He's ready for that. And as Stan also said, "Excelsior!"