Look at me Mama!

"Look at me Mama!  Look at me!!" he says, as he stands perched on the pool edge, holding my finger, getting ready to jump.  So of course, I look at him.  With an excited grin, he jumps, and lands in the water, completely submerging his bald little head. Watching his smiling face emerge from that water is a slice of heaven.  Stretching from ear to ear, I can see pride, elation, joy, relief, and exhilaration beaming out from inside his little soul.

So we do it again.  "Look at me!!  Look at me Aaron and Sammy!  Aaron and Sammy look at me!!!" and amusedly, but slightly annoyed they look up at him and say (for the 30th time) "We see you Andrew!  Do we have to watch you EACH time?"  and, although unspoken, the answer is, "yes."  Because EACH time, he demands an audience before he jumps. So even if it is for the "wrong" reasons, (i.e. they just want him to jump and leave them alone) they look.  But, then he returns the favor as they practice their new dives and painful looking front flips (which often land them smack on their backs).  They cheer for him, he cheers for them.  It is sweet.

His smile is so bright, and so proud, and so darn happy I cannot do it justice with words.  It makes me SO wonderfully happy to see him enjoying himself and not running in terror from a mouth treatment or sitting on a hospital bed.

I am ready to spend ALL DAY in the pool, holding his trusting little hand while he jumps, telling him what a brave, beautiful, amazing boy he is.