“Sam I Am” is a blessing and loves to have fun
Father’s Day has come and gone and for me, it was a time of reflection.
Not only for myself, but in remembering my dad and my grandpas.
Those men in my life have all passed away. Most recently, two years ago, my dad passed away from complications of COVID–just eight days after my mom passed from the same disease. Devastating to say the least.
This past Sunday, I had the opportunity to spend a good part of the afternoon with my son, Sam.
“Sam I Am” as many call him, is the awesome young man who made me a dad more than 25 years ago.
And it’s a really cool story, because we adopted Sam, and he came home to live with us just one day after entering this crazy old world.
My wife and I had been married for 18 years and did not have any biological children of our own. We both felt if it was meant to be, then God would make a way.
Well, over time, it became obvious we were not meant to be biological parents, for whatever reason.
We also both agreed we were not spending hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for testing to determine if either of us were incapable of making it happen.
After much conversation and realizing Father-Time was ticking by quickly, we decided to explore adoption.We settled on going with an adoption agency, Christian Cradle, out of the East Lansing area to assist us with our adventure.
After meeting with our consultant, it was determined we would go the domestic route, a U.S. baby, as opposed to foreign adoption that was far more costly. Somehow, it just didn’t seem right to have “child payments” had we chosen to borrow money for the foreign adoption.
We put together a portfolio and fast forward to the time when a prospective birthmom selected us as the parents for her unborn child. We met with her several times prior to the birth, getting to know each other.
The memories and emotions flood back even still. Here I am, 38 years old, my wife 35 and we’re adopting an infant. Talk about a late start in life!!
The day came when our son was born and we hustled our way from our home to a mid-Michigan hospital to set our eyes on our son. The one who made me a dad.
Tears of joy and emotions flowed as we went to pick up our boy on a cold winter day in February of 1996.
We were going from life as we knew it, just the two of us, to all of a sudden, being parents overnight.
In the hospital, we agreed with the birthmom, that his name would be Samuel John. He was, and still is, beautiful and the apple of this daddy’s eye.
I am so proud of the man he is becoming. After 18 years of us trying to do our best to raise him, he has ventured out on his own, married a beautiful, smart, funny and loving woman, Bethany who is now a registered nurse.
Sam has a heart for God, loves people, is super funny and a hard worker.
True to his form, on Sunday when we had them over, my young goldendoodle Charlie went to his cage. (He’s not a fan of company).
Determined to see Charlie, Sam crawled in to his crate with him and talked to him gently while petting him–only something Sam would do.
Sam is a dose of good medicine for me. Always smiling, looking for the bright side and trusting God when things don’t seem to be going how he thought.I love watching him grow, how much he loves Bethany and their baby beagle, Lisa.
I hope and pray I’ve helped teach him something in life. Although, most of us know, moms are the best at that sort of thing.
Thanks for making me a dad, Sam. I love you beyond words. I am so proud of you and Bethany and what the future holds for you.
Contact Dave at tct@pageone-inc.com.
