Your father came into the world sixteen days early and took your Grandma and Grandpa Rick by surprise, as he was due on Christmas Day.  In this respect you two have something to share as you also were born sixteen days early.  Your dad was the most beautiful baby I have ever seen and bought us such happiness.  He was walking at nine months and I remember when he was small one of his favorite things was to sit on my Kirby vacuum cleaner and ride around the room as I cleaned.

When your dad’s sister, Tracy was born he was so very proud to be a big brother.  I can still see him walking down the hospital corridor wearing a yellow shirt and brown pants, carrying the largest yellow mum I had ever seen.  He wanted to bring his baby sister a flower.

Your father became the man of the house at the early age of four.  Many times when I needed comforting it was his small arms that held me.  Your dad was always a big help around the house at this age, as he wanted to learn how to do everything and find out how things worked.  He had a quiet personality much like Grandma’s father and just the opposite of his sister’s outgoing exuberance.  Your Aunt Tracy seemed to find trouble and your dad was always trying to steer her out of messes.   She was bossy and not too willing to want to take advice from him and so there was many times I had to settle matters between them.

Both your dad and Aunt Tracy loved animals and there was a variety that made their home with us.  We had a Dutch New Zealand rabbit named, Thumper that your dad would put in a harness and place him in the trailer attached to his toy tractor and ride around the block.  Even though Thumper was harnessed the rabbit never attempted to escape and seemed to enjoy the trips around the crescent.

Sambuca was the first of many Samoyed’s we were to own and I remember how both your dad and aunt fell totally in love with her as did I.  Sambuca went everywhere with them and played on all the toys in the playground.  She would pull them on a toboggan or across the ice as they skated behind her.  They would all run and jump through the water sprinkler and come into the house spreading water everywhere.  Then at the end of their play they would fall asleep together.

Both your aunt and your dad would love to surprise me with flowers and sometimes berries that seemingly just found their way into our house.  Grandma could hardly scold them seriously as they had always meant so well by their good intentions even if the deed was at the cost of unknowing neighbor.

Your father and aunt fought over many things but I always said that they were the worst of enemies and the best of friends.  When someone else attempted to hurt one of them the other would always come to their defense.  Many times they had to take on the neighborhood bullies and often they came out on top.  They have not lost that bond of love and support for each other and this has always made me pleased that no matter what they have always been there for each other.

School was not your father’s favorite activity and his sister often found studies easier which made it difficult for your dad, as there was always unspoken competition between them.  Later we found that it was a short-term memory and attention span problem and that your father was bored most of the time with the usual class activities.  Your dad has however the most amazing long-term memory and he can go back to events years in the past and recall the most details with such clarity that I have ever witnessed.

When your dad was a young teen I remember him going through a phase where he enjoyed building rockets.  He got both your aunt and me involved as he constructed tubes and prepared parachutes.  He had many successful launches from the playground, which was just at the end of our street.  Then I remember he modified a toy racecar with a rocket engine one day and sent it flying down the back alley but not quite as he had planned it.

Your dad took his first spin around the block behind the wheel of my car when he was nine years old with some help from grandma.  He was driving at fourteen and was a licensed driver at age sixteen.  He drove well when I was around but later admitted to costing me a few extra car repair bills.

Like most teenage boys he was shy and blind to the flirting of many a young girl.  Eventually he met and fell in love with your mom and we are lucky that he did or we would never have had you Munchkin.

Grandma has always been very proud of her children.  They are intelligent, caring and sensible people and if you ever have any problem they come highly recommended.            

                                   Cheryl C. Helynck

                                              2003