Sammy came up with his own slogan…but thanks for your votes! He decided it will be “A vote for Sammy is a vote for an All Star!” It’s perfect! This upcoming week is campaign week for Student Council elections, and Sammy will shake hands and kiss babies all this week at school, with the the help of his friends. Just kidding, he won’t shake hands. ; )
On Wednesday morning, all that are running for Reporter, like Sammy, will record a 30 second or shorter video of their speech or slogan or whatever it is each kid chooses to do. Sammy has a GREAT speech, that goes wonderfully with his campaign, but I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag yet, so you’ll have to wait till later for that little bit of Samawesomeness. Hey, did I just invent a new word? I think I did!
Anyhow, I have spent the last few nights, into the wee hours of the morning, working on his posters and hand-outs. I finished his 2 posters tonight…then got right onto making more hand-outs. I decided last minute to use the paint bucket full of unused pencils that came from my mother-in-law’s house. Now let me tell you…this bucket has been collecting pencils for about 25 years. There are some GOOD ones in there – The Little Mermaid, Lisa Frank rainbows & bears, some good 80’s graffiti, holographic ones, even a pencil from the World’s Largest McDonald’s! I took 60 of those pencils and attached 2×4 fluorescent shipping labels to them, stuck to themselves, at the top near the eraser, to make a kind of flag on each one. One side has the “Sammy for Reporter” All Stars circle logo and the other side says Sammy for Reporter. He’s passing out the pink Lisa Frank ones to get the female vote, you know? Heck, if a politician came to my house today and gave me a Lisa Frank pencil with unicorns on it, instead of a dumb ol’ pamphlet, I would probably vote for them! Little girls who liked Lisa Frank just grow up to be big girls who still like Lisa Frank.
Alright, it is about 1:45 am on Sept. 12. While making all of this, my husband and I have been watching 9/11 docs and talking about that memorable day 10 years ago. It was so surreal and it still is, to this day, while watching the news videos. Sammy was one year old, almost two. He doesn’t remember any of it, but he has heard about it every year of his life since then. He came in here to tell us goodnight, and sat down for a moment. About that time, they showed the footage of the second plane hitting the tower. Sammy told me, “Mommy, that is the first time I have ever seen that.” I didn’t realize it – this major event that is commemorated this same day every year for his whole life, and he had never seen that image…that shot of the plane and burning towers that is so unforgettable…that I just now watched, literally, played in slow-motion, dramatically, on my HD-TV. I had to stop typing and remember to breathe.
How will he think about it now, since he has actually seen the footage? I talked to him about it, reminded him to say a little prayer before he went to sleep, to remember to be grateful for everything he has. The look on his little innocent face was just…man. I can’t explain it. But I remember sitting in front of the TV for days, glued to the news, and Sammy’s little happy, toddler self was blissfully oblivious to it all, smiling and making me happy when I really needed it. Michael was almost 5 and understood a little more – he was always so smart and advanced for his age, so he had lots of questions and wanted to know everything he could about it. I filtered what he heard and say, but I didn’t lie to him or candy-coat it. It did change our lives – we went to war. In 2004, my husband became part of those deployed troops, and almost lost his life in Iraq, because of a suicide bomber in a truck with an improvised explosive device. I thank God everyday that terrorist’s plans didn’t pan out – but he is no longer on this earth to know it.
Wow, I started this post out as one thing and it is ending as another! I wanted to show you the pictures of the posters I made for Sammy…but I think I have just depressed myself and maybe the readers of Sammy is Awesome! If I have, I’m sorry! I will show you the posters, maybe that will give you a smile before you leave. : )
I drew and painted this thing by hand...the things we mamas do for our kids!
This is where my schoolin' of design layout from the 80's comes in handy...ha ha ha.
So, I will keep you all updated on how it goes. If he doesn’t get elected as Reporter “officer” there are 2 back ups, Senator and Governor, the the ones who get the 2nd and 3rd highest number of votes. Doesn’t matter – it’s been fun doing all this poster and hand out making stuff anyway!
Sammy is Awesome 