In preparation for Gabriel turning 9, he's been talking about what he'd like for a birthday party. In keeping with our theme of VERY low key birthdays, I'm not even sure you can constitute what we were planning (pizza and play time at the park) to be a party. In any account, Gabriel heard that it was his birthday and immediately had a plan for what his birthday was going to look like.
Gabriel has insisted on inviting several NFL players to his birthday party so they can, of course, play football. This afternoon, he started listing off to me all the players (many I have no idea who they are, and from what team they play for) and what positions they would play. Soon enough he had listed off at least 10 players and then was satisfied. He almost had a real team ready to play at his party.
He asked, "Mom, can I please invite them to my party?" I thought, what harm can there be in inviting them. Personally, I think it is really cute how excited he was to think about the idea that an NFL player could possibly come to his party. So to his computer he went and soon enough he was Googling "Ed Reeds address." For those who needed an insight into who Ed Reed is, he is Gabriel's favorite player, on his favorite team, the Baltimore Ravens. I think he is some sort of safety or something like that. Gabriel adores him.
In between helping Michael get his spy gear together and Isabelle a drink, Gabriel started shouting for my help. Mom- I can't find his address, but I found his phone number. Why don't I just call him? Now I'm okay with writing a letter, but I'm not okay with calling numbers to try and get a football player on the phone to invite to my son's birthday party (which really isn't even a party). I told Gabriel, we can't call him. To which Gabriel responded in typical 8 or 9 year old fashion, "WHY NOT?" After several rounds of bantering back and forth about why or why not to call Mr. Reed, I finally said, "Gabriel, today is Sunday. Its family day. Ed is probably spending time with his family." It worked. He said, "Okay Mom, but if today was Monday, we would call him right?" Maybe. End. Of. Conversation!
We settled upon the agreement that if Gabriel really did want to invite Ed Reed to his birthday, he's have to go about things the old fashioned way, and write him a letter. So that's exactly what he did.
Dear Mr. Ed Reed,
I love it! I will ask my mom if we can even play tackle!
And the "Please call my mom first."
As he wrote the letter, he stopped midway through and said, "Mom, do you think he could come for a few days to play?" I don't know Gabriel, he's probably very busy. Gabriel, now talking in a whole octave higher than his normal voice, wildly excited announced, "Mom, can I ask him if he'd like to stay overnight? Wait- where would he sleep?" Oh I know, he can sleep on the air mattress." I stopped sewing, looked up at him, and just smiled. Maybe Gabriel, you never know. To which he responded, "REALLY MOM? HE COULD STAY? THANK YOU SO MUCH MOM! THIS IS GOING TO BE THE BEST BIRTHDAY!" I couldn't break the biggest bubble of excitement that was spewing out of his mouth. I just had to let him live in the moment.
He continued on, now moving onto addressing the envelope to send his letter in. He even used a purple envelope of mine because of course it is one of the Raven's colors.
As he wrote the address on the envelope, he asked me what the name Eye of the Hurricane Foundation meant. It was the name of Ed Reeds charity. I explained that the goal of the charity was to help people who are less fortunate. See, the Eye of the Hurricane Foundation was the only actual address we could find for Mr. Reed. Knowing it was a long shot, we decided sending the note to him there was better than not sending it at all. Minutes after sharing what the charity was for, Gabriel ran off to his bedroom and came back with a dollar. He then wrote the following on the card...
Seeing Gabriel's eyes light up with excitement that just maybe his dream of meeting his favorite player on his birthday was oh so enjoyable. While we discussed the fact that chances are he probably can't make it and that he shouldn't get upset if he doesn't come, Gabriel was not going to let any odds take away from his excitement in the possibility, that it could be a possibility.
Before sealing up the envelope Gabriel realized that just in case November 5th didn't work for Mr. Reed to come, that he knew the invitation was open for any time. He scribbled down a note about when else to come and then folded up the note and put it in the envelope.
Tonight as the kiddos got ready for bed Gabriel became insistent that we take his letter to the post office right away. Not tomorrow morning before school, but tonight, so that tomorrow morning it would be one of the first letters sent out on its final destination. Dad obliged and without hesitation Gabriel jumped in the car, letter in hand, ready to personally deliver his letter to the USPS.
Just a few minutes ago they arrived back home and Gabriel, still on his excitement high, announced he can't wait to hear if Ed can come to his party.
While the chances are greater that nothing will become of his letter to his favorite player, I was not about to stop him from doing it. See, there is something special children have, and that is the belief that anything is possible. As adults, I think we can get too bogged down with the realities of life that we stop taking chances; we stop putting ourselves out there. Whether Gabriel hears back from Ed Reed or not, isn't the main message to remember (although it would be pretty cool don't you think). The main lesson to be learned is that you should never stop believing the impossible isn't possible. Its amazing what a little bit of effort, a lot of heart and mental determination can produce.
Well done Gabriel, keep shooting for those dreams. Who knows, maybe an NFL player will come to your birthday. Stay tuned!
Until next time,
Angie
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