I remember the day he was born and the wonder of his sweet little face. When they brought him to me from the nursery, I unwrapped his blankets and checked him all over, counting and kissing his little fingers and toes. I put his sweet face to my breast and gave him my mother's milk and reveled in the warm love between mother and child. He was a sweet gentle child with a hardy laugh for a 5 months old.
When he was four he was sent to pre-school. He was so excited one day when he came home with a song to sing for me. "I'm bring home a baby dinosaur". It was so cute ! At the end of the year, I attended his "graduation" from pre-school It was so precious to see him in in his "robe and paper plate cap" complete with tassel.
I was proud when he sang "All day, all night, angels watching over me my Lord" at the Church of God Christmas pageant, with a group of other children all dressed up as angels. He would sing that song over and over for months to come.
I walked with him to his first day of kindergarten. That was in 1980. He went to Carrie Knause Elementary - the same as almost everyone in the family, including me.
I worried over his swollen finger on the day he put his little finger into a hole on the bottom of his metal firetruck he got for Christmas - and couldn't get it back out. I wrung my hands as Grandpa Lott cut him out of the truck with metal snips while simultaneously being grateful that Grandpa Lott was practiced at it from his job. He had not a snip of his skin or a drop of blood when Grandpa Lott was done. We were so thankful that day to have such a wonderful Grandpa living just across the back yard from our house.
I volunteered to be Bobby's den mother and we had a good time earning badges, singing songs, going to pack meetings, and going to the pine wood derby.
I cheered at all of his sport games from pee-wee to high school. For little league baseball we helped Bob sell candy to finance the league. For scouts we helped him sell popcorn.
The whole family celebrated his high school graduation in 1993. While we watched him receive his diploma, we cheered and clapped our hands. We gave Bob a big open house later that month and many of our friends and family gathered to help us acknowledge his accomplishment. I put together a couple of collages of his childhood pictures and set up his senior pictures for display. I made and decorated a graduation cake. I was so proud of my handsome, gentle, smart boy.
Robert was the 3rd of my five children, all shown in the picture below with his step dad at the head of the table. He is holding his monkey puppet, which he loved so much.
I taught my children that all children are innocent and deserving of love and affection. And to accept half, step, etc. into their families and to love them as their own. I know that Bob would have been a good step dad.
