Sherryl continues to push herself and has enjoyed spending a lot of time at day care the last several days. She is also getting ready for the holidays and enjoying every moment of it.
Today we celebrate another special birthday in our family. Austin Tyler Scott Gomez, Jonathan and Rachael's son, turns 7 years old. While he is a darling to us all, he and RaRa have a special bond that began the moment Austin was born. RaRa was there as he arrived in this world, the first birth she had witnessed. In 1982, she had bravely arrived at the hospital in the wee hours of the morning when Arleen was in labor with Jonathan. But once a contraction began, she cheerfully excused herself to the waiting room and returned to welcome and hold baby Jonathan Scott Gomez once the delivery was over. Fortunately, it was a fast delivery, so Sherryl's wait wasn't very long at all. Sherryl has confronted many of her fears over the years and she would not have missed Austin's birth for the world.
Jonathan, Rachael, and Austin have lived with Sherryl and Richard twice. The first time was when Austin was a newborn baby, and the second time was when Austin was 3 years old. Sherryl has always believed that the house she owns should be filled with family and joy, as was the intention of our parents who were the original owners. The happy buzz inside "the house on the hill" was certainly constant when Austin and his parents lived there. And the bond between RaRa and Austin is quite remarkable.
Austin is fascinated with RaRa. He loves the way she smells. He loves to play with the skin on her elbows. And he loves to spend time with her no matter what she is doing. When we were celebrating Annie's birthday last weekend, Austin was amazed at how soft the little triangle of skin is between RaRa's thumb and forefinger, proof that the fascination continues.
When Sherryl was undergoing chemotherapy and losing her hair, she wanted to prepare Austin for the visual change so told him all about it. In his very sweet naive way, Austin began to giggle at the idea of RaRa with no hair. And RaRa giggled right along with him. Seeing the world through a child's eyes can bring such a different perspective. Seeing the world through Austin's eyes can bring pure delight.
While little boys are made of snakes and snails and puppy dog tails, Austin is too sweet to be made from slithering, slimy, and wiggly things. There is a bit of mischief in Austin's eyes, and he is one of the sweetest boys in the world. Arleen has always said the sun rises from her grandson's face. It should also be noted that his face is never beaming more brightly than when it is looking at RaRa.
This photograph of Austin was taken at Pink in the Park in May 2007 -- a special day that honored RaRa. There are a few special songs RaRa and Austin share. One is called "I Want You to Want Me" by Cheap Trick, and they love singing it together.
Enjoy the song and Happy 7th Birthday, Sweet Austin! 
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