Being A Sam To A Sam
About 10 years ago, we were in the midst of a major cross-country move – from Alaska to the Midwest. I was transferred within my company. And we did not know a single person other than my boss when we got there.
No one.
At the time, the eldest Son of Thunder was three; the second Son of Thunder was hanging out inside the Little Black Dress, and was due in a couple of months. Between the move, unpacking, starting a new job, baby on the way, not knowing a soul … we were slightly stressed.
And along came Courtney, although we never called her that.
She was Kiki, because eldest Thunder Son couldn’t say her real name, so Kiki she was. We actually stole her from another family who let us “borrow” her for a night so The Dress and I could get an actual date. Somehow, we just connected, and Kiki became our babysitter, educator, playmate and guardian of the two Thunder Sons.
Kiki enabled me to focus on my new job; it gave the LBD a few hours just to be alone and relax. Without her, I don’t know what we would have done.
We relied and depended on her so much that we once left her in charge of our one-year-old and four-year-old for a week while we attended a family wedding out in California. Now, before everyone freaks, Kiki’s mother and sister came over and stayed at the house as well.
All I can say is during that two-year period, she was our Sam.
Most think Sams are usually older; the ones who have been there and can share their life experiences. But sometimes, as in this case, a Sam can be a home-schooled high-schooler. A true Sam comes in all ages.
Kiki came to visit the other day. She’s grown up now. She spent time in the Marines and is now studying to be a physician’s assistant.
She was out talking with The Dress when I happened to join them. Kiki was saying how much she appreciated us, how The Dress was like a second mother to her. And she spoke about how much she admired our marriage, and how she wanted a relationship with her future husband like ours.
And I was pretty flabbergasted. I felt during those two years we were just hanging on. I was never really happy in my job there, although I loved my boss and co-workers. It just wasn’t the place for me. We only developed a couple of close relationships, and we had two little babies in tow. It was just a tough couple of years.
And here’s our Sam saying what a great Sam we were to her. That made The Dress smile, almost shed a tear.
I guess it goes to show that people are watching us all the time, even when we don’t think about it. We made it through that two-year period because we worked at it, and we had a Sam.
I never really understand why I was there during that two-year stretch. It remains a blur to me to this day. Yet if we were able to impact and impress a high-school kid to want something great in life, then I guess God put us there for that reason.
That’s good enough for me.
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