With the recent news of me being the haplo-identical donor and Rowan's transplant date rushing towards us, we decided to honor one of Rowan's wishes of things he wanted to be sure to do before he leaves for Seattle. He wanted to go to the beach, so we loaded the car and headed to South Padre. We had a near perfect mini vacation. The only thing missing was Zoe, but she already had plans to be out of town. Here are a few pictures of how we spent Father's Day weekend at the beach. They were quite possibly some of the most peaceful moments we will have for a great while...and we are so grateful!
We celebrated Dad, Brian...
Visited the turtle rescue...
Ate at one of our favorite restaurants on the planet, made new friends and saw old friends...
Watched Copa America Soccer Games and the NBA Finals on a projector on the side of the hotel...
And of course, the main objective was to play in the sand. Rowan can swim in chlorinated pools, but cannot swim in rivers, lakes or oceans. He does get to splash in the shore, and wade up to his shorts though...and he LOVES every minute of it!
One of the most special parts of the trip though, was when Rowan left messages in the sand for some of his treasured angel friends. He has done this before for a few of them, but his list has grown. And this year, he wanted to draw a symbol for each of their names too. He wrote "I Love you" himself, with his little yellow shovel, then he wrote Chrissie and then Jalene all by himself. It was hard for his little hands, so he had Ian and I help him write the rest of the names. Finally, he chose the perfect symbol to memorialize each of this precious angels who have gone on to heaven. It was breathtaking. It wasn't easy. He got upset with me because I told him we were in a good, safe spot and then a wave crashed over his writing and erased it all. But, we simply started again. It was a collaborative effort (Rowan, Ian and I all writing with shovels or our fingers, one name at a time, directed by Rowan), but who he sent a message to and what their symbol was...those all came directly from Rowan.
He honored 7 beautiful lives...
Here are their finished names, along with the symbols Rowan drew for each of them...
(Chrissie~ a Rainbow over her name)
(Jalene~ a Snowflake for Frozen)
(Julian~ a Captain America Shield)
(Natalie~ a Flip Flop:) And Pam, you should know that Rowan also chose Natalie's name to go over the "I love you", with all of the other younger children's names below because he said it showed that she is still taking care of all of the children until their parent's get there.)
(Justin~ a Spiderman Web)
(Melissa~ a Happy Face Balloon!)
(Baby Avery~ The heart on top is Avery looking over her brothers and sisters, the solid heart below her name is her brother Carter, and the heart split in two represents her newborn twin siblings, Harrison and Harper.)
The final piece of art...
Rowan wanted me to take his picture with all of the names...
He quickly told me that I was taking it from the wrong angle though. He wanted their names and symbols to be above him, to show that they were watching over him from Heaven...
Thank you Lord for a beautiful weekend at the beach, making amazing family memories. But thank you also for reminding us, through Rowan's heart and eyes, of those who have lost their precious children. As we prepare to get ready to prepare, pack and leave for Seattle, for months of transplant time...thank you for reminding us not to stress...to take deep breaths, and to keep things in perspective. We still have Rowan, and we are about to take a huge step to improve, if not save, his life. Let us cherish each and every moment we have with him, whether it be at the beach, on the road, or in the hospital. Our hearts and prayers go out to the Patterson, Salinas, Andrade, Easterling, Canahuati, Herrera and Starratt families, but we thank you at the same time for showing us how to live with grace, and for reminding us to cherish each moment with our loved ones. Know that their memories are not lost. They are engraved not just in the sand, but in Rowan's heart and soul as well. And he is renewed by the fact that he feels them watching over him from above...
In loving memory of...
Chrissie Patterson, Jalene Salinas, Julian Andrade, Justin Easterling, Avery Canahuati, Natalie Starratt, & Melissa Herrera
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