AMOS TROTTER 12; SAMMY'S VISIT

As I watched Sammy walk down the hall toward me I was aware of the changes that had already been made in a short amount of time. The first time I had seen him here at Shady Rest Assisted Living was shortly after his adoption had been finalized giving my son Chris and his wife the child they medically were not able to have. It was a very emotional time all around. Chris and Sarah bursting with pride, feeling obvious relief that all of the cumbersome minutiae of the adoption process were finally at an end. Me discovering how easily I could have my heart filled and yet still have plenty of room for love and caring to grow for the new addition to our family. And, most of all Sammy, maybe finally finding a stable home after being bounced around in a system filled with the best of intentions but lacking in resources, much less a ready supply of caring families.

He was still ensconced between the bookends of his newly acquired parents, a hand reaching out on either side grasping the newfound anchors in his young life. His head was still held high. His bottom lip still slightly poking out in evidence of a determination to face whatever may confront him. His steps still confidently moving forward. I had seen that same look in Chris when he was that age and faced with entering a nursery class for the first time. Sammy was very fortunate indeed, but nothing compared to how fortunate Chris and Sarah were at having found him.

As he got a bit closer I stooped down - getting less and less easy for me to do - so that I could greet him at his eye level. I wasn't prepared for Sammy's reaction as he broke free of his new parents and came charging full bore to me. Having not found his brakes yet, he charged into me at full steam ahead. His arms went around my neck and I managed to wrap my arms around his small frame. We both rolled backward, with him cradled on my chest.

"PAPA!!" he exclaimed, as we became an awkward tangle of old creaky bones and young giggling energy rolling about on the floor.

"Sammy!" Chris and Sarah both cried as they rushed forward to see if either of us had been hurt.

"It's all right!" I said to them, "it may take me a moment to get up and it ain't gonna be pretty but we are fine." I looked at Sammy, beginning to look concerned at the reaction, and said, "Sammy, that is the best greeting I have had in many years. If you decide to play football, you should try out to be a tackle."

"What's a tackle Papa?" he asked, I am sure he had never heard much of anything about football much less the positions on the team. He had this way of a questioning tilt to his head indicating to me this might be the first of an endless barrage of questioning to come.

"You have plenty of time to learn about that later Sammy. For now, let's just have a visit." This satisfied him, for the moment. Chris and Sarah had given me a choice. The three of us going out to lunch together or Sammy spending some time with me while they suffered through a lunch alone, just the two of them, quietly, no Sammy, maybe a glass of wine, no Sammy, alone, just the two of them, for a couple of hours, just the two of them.

Understanding the verbal two-by-four they had pounded me with, I somehow chose to have a visit with Sammy while they suffered through lunch without him. I wouldn't take bets they would ever set foot in a restaurant, a glass of wine was probably not to be finished before other, more urgent matters, were attended to. Ah, youth.

I had already inquired and gotten approval for the visit from Carol Jennings, the manager at Shady Rest. I assured her I would use some discretion in who I took him to visit and would not get him involved in any questionable pursuits. I gave her my best innocent "who me?" look as I asked her if she thought I was the type to step outside the rules. With a loud "Hmmph", she turned and walked off. I tried to be insulted but I just couldn't.