It was a merry Christmas, your first one in Maine, when Grammy and I visited (along with the Clickmans). We bought you inline skates, a cool racing car mat with artificial intelligence, a new Nerf gun and many other goodies. You later told your Mom that we made your Christmas a special one. That's what it's all about! love you
Like last year, we saved the best Three Musketeers adventure for last: a trip to Gillette Stadium to see our favorite team, the New England Patriots!
It was a day of adventure and surprises. You were very excited and told your Mom the night before “I don’t know what you’ll be doing on Sunday, but it will probably be the boring-est thing ever. We’re going to be doing the best thing ever!”
You crack me up!
Surprise # 1: the weather. The game was on Sunday, November 23 – late into the season – and we were ready for crazy weather. Rain, ice, snow, wind… you name it, anything could happen. But we were incredibly lucky, getting a sunny day that started cool but soon warmed up into the high 50′s!
Adventure # 1 – unlike last year when we ate lunch at Five Guys inside Patriot Place, this time I wanted you to experience a classic game day activity: tailgating. None of you had ever done this before, so we rolled out the red carpet (figuratively speaking, not literally). We went to our favorite dirt parking lot, set up the table and soon your Dad and Uncle were firing up the stoves and grills. We had a gourmet feast that included breakfast (bacon, hash browns, eggs, english muffins) and – a little later – the second wave came out featuring luncheon delights like burgers and chips. Yummy! You guys had a blast. Emma climbed on the roof of the van, we threw the football around, and the guy next to us kept announcing things over his loudspeaker!
Surprise # 2: an unexpected goose bump moment. While we were tailgating and later, walking to Gillette, we couldn’t help but notice a couple “fly-overs” around Gillette – with two supersonic airplanes zipping (and I mean zipping) by high above. We started speculating: would we have a flyover before the game?
When we got to the stadium we learned this was “Honor Our Veterans” day at Gillette… and at that moment we put it all together. The security lines were endlessly long getting in… by the time we made it through there was under 10 minutes to game time. So I said “We have to run or we’ll miss the flyover!” So we all bolted as fast as we could up the long stairs and across the huge concourse. As we walked down the stairs leading to our seats, it was game time, 1PM. We looked at the big screen and could see the two jets coming in fast… two seconds later they were flying low above Gillette, literally going over 500 miles an hour. I screamed, “Look up kids!” and there they were. I’ve seen a lot of cool things in my lifetime, but a fly-over is one of the most exciting of all because of the power, speed and sound.
Adventure # 2: always expect the unexpected at a Patriot’s game. Last year, one of the guys in front of us pulled down his pants to show off his Red Sox (??) boxer shorts. What?!?! This year, the guy to the right side of our row – close to Ben and Camden – was a wild and fan who insisted on going crazy and giving out a high five after just every positive Patriots play (ppp… that’s called “alliteration” grandkids). Another Patriot’s first down? High-fives and screaming. A great defensive play? High-fives and screaming. A touchdown? Extra high-fives and screaming. I later heard that a fan behind Ben had a very interesting vocabulary, swearing thorughout the game. I asked Ben, “did you hear any words you hadn’t heard before?” and Ben said “No, but I’ve never heard so many said so many times.”
Surprise #3: the Detroit Lions. The Pat’s opponent came into the game on a five game winning streak and one of the best records in the NFL. So we were expecting a tough game with lots of scoring. That wasn’t the case: Brady and his team played great offensively and defensively. The final score was even closer than it seemed watching the game… the Pats could have easily put two more touchdowns on the board had a couple more plays gone their way.
Adventure # 3: making our way to the bathroom at half time! It’s wall-to-wall, elbow-to-elbow at a Patriots game, so your Dad, Uncle and carefully stayed together as we ventured out into the concourse. The lines were long, but we got the job done! After, I brought you to one of the stores and told you to pick out anything you wanted. Emma and I had spotted a silly “retro” Patriots hat on the widescreen during the game – a fan was wearing it. Emma looked at hundreds of items and said “I want that!” Ben and Camden joined in and said “we want one of those too!” I bought those and got each of you a Pats wall banner.
Surprise #4: every fan got a special surprise coming into Gillette, a banner. You loved unrolling it and holding it up during the game. You guys tried hard to get on camera, hoping they’d see you and put you up on the big screen. I told you about the time that happened to me and your Dads. The game was a day or so before Halloween, so we all wore masks and were noticed because our seats were very close to the field.
Adventure #4: seeing Tom Brady is an adventure for every one of us. By the time he retires, Tom Brady will go down in history as the greatest QB. He’s there already in most of the “best of all time” categories. What an amazing competitor – he never gives up, never stops learning and tirelessly works out, driving himself to be the best he can be every day of his life. We can all learn a lesson or two (or a 100) from Tom Brady. You have seen history: someday you will tell your own kids ” You know what? When I was your age I saw Tom Brady, the greatest QB of all time.”
Surprise # 5: by the time we walked the half hour back to the car, we were all beat. It had been a long day, the sun had set and it was once again feeling like late November should feel. The parking lot was jammed and everyone was trying to exit at the same time. We could have been there for an hour, but our microphone/loudspeaker friend from earlier tail gating jumped in front of the cars and allowed us to back out. I told you guys “The reason he did that was because we got along with him and his friends. We talked to them, fooled around, gave them some of our fool and they remembered that. When you treat people nice, you get nice back.”
End of the day – the traffic moved slow all the way back – it took us an hour just to re-connect with I-95, the main highway north. Soon, the back seat of the van was quiet and every one of you was fast asleep. Ben was snoring! In Lexington, Emma had to go the bathroom so we pulled over. As we left the parking lot, a loud chant arose from the Three Musketeers: “We want Fuddruckers, we want Fuddruckers!” You wouldn’t let up! You had remembered our visit there after last year’s Pats game. Soon we were feasting on burgers, fries and shakes… yummy day treat #2.
I hope I can get tickets again next year so we add new surprises and adventures to our memory banks. I wonder how long it will take before Ainsley and Molly, Jack and Madigan want to join us? I bet it won’t be long. Some day we’ll go down there – all 13 of us – and your Mom’s and Grammy will join us too. Somehow they always stay behind to be with the little ones.
What a fantastic day – get it? “fan”tastic?
I’ll be honest with you: Grammy and I had a bit of a tough time when we learned your family was relocating from New Hampshire to Maine. We knew we’d still see you – after all Scarborough is only an hour away. It was more a case of knowing you’d face new challenges like adjusting to a new place, school, sports, neighborhood and making new friends. And that you were leaving so much behind. We also worried about your Dad and the adjustments he’d probably face with his career in a new state.
But people move every day (and sometimes throughout their lives) it’s not unusual. We were proud how you all had the guts to try something scary, something new, and knew you could do it, despite having to go through some “interesting times.” Parents and grandparents worry about all kinds of things (sometimes way too much) and change can be hard.
So when Monday, October 26 came around – moving day – there was nervousness and trepidation all the way around (well maybe not Madigan). You had been staying with us at the beach for four days, and now it was time to venture farther north to your new home in Scarborough, Maine.
It was a warm, sunny, early Fall day, and we knew things would get better with time.
Grammy and I toured your house for the first time and got a feel for your new neighborhood. We helped you guys move, adjust and fix things.
Later in the day, after things had settled down a bit, we went outside and worked on a cool Halloween set-up on your porch and front yard. Later, you and Ainsley wanted to go to the neighborhood playground down the street. I decided to accompany you.
You got on your bike and sped away fast, leading the way. Ainsley and I trailed behind at a slower pace.
Five minutes or so down Tenney Lane, I looked up during my conversation with your sister and saw you hit a bump, fly off your bike, landing on the lawn to your right.
‘Oh boy,’ I said to myself, ‘this isn’t good. He landed hard. but at least he landed on the lawn, not the paved sidewalk.’
I ran down to see how you were doing. Sitting there on the lawn, you held your right arm, trying not to move it. You had a very serious look on your face. I could tell you were in pain.
“What did you land on, what hurts?” I asked. I noticed how your arm was cocked at a strange angle. At first I thought you may have dislocated your shoulder. Something looked funky and wasn’t right.
“Is it your shoulder, does it hurt here?” “No, its more down here,” as you pointed to your arm. The pain was bad and I was afraid you might pass out. I put my arm around you. You were not moving your arm in any way, shape or form.
“Take deep breaths through your nose with your mouth closed Camden, big breaths, filling up your chest. Then open your mouth and slowly let it out. Keep doing this, it will make you feel better.”
I was trying to get you to calm down a bit and get your mind off the pain. You’re such a trooper, you did exactly as you were told, and sat there quietly. You were scared.
I grabbed my cell phone and called Grammy. “Uh, Camden fell off his bike, and you may want to get down here fast.” That was all I needed to say – Grammy and I have known each other 46 years and she can read me like a book.
I knew there was no way you could stand, let alone walk. You were pale and quiet, trying hard to keep a ‘stiff upper lip’ (as the British say) through the waves of pain. We sat together, I kept talking to you, trying to focus your breathing as we waited for help. You were so brave, I was amazed and proud as I told you it would be okay and help was on the way.
It wasn’t long after you were home in the living room chair that you left with Grammy and your Dad to visit the emergency room (ER) and get checked out. It was 15 or so minutes away, but the traffic was slow and it probably felt like a 100-mile journey.
After what felt like an eternity of waiting we got a phone call – the x-ray revealed a dislocated and fractured right elbow. Not good news. I felt so bad this had happened “on my watch” and didn’t say much as I stayed back at your house with your Mom, Dadu and Nana. I kept thinking about how you were in a new neighborhood, didn’t know anyone, everything was different. I couldn’t believe you wouldn’t be able to start school, meet new friends for weeks or play on the hockey team you had just tried out for and made.
I felt so bad the first day of your new life had started this way. You didn’t deserve this! I was angry and frustrated, wishing I could have somehow been beside you when you hit that bump and flew through the air. But you had pedaled fast and were way ahead of Ainsley and I.
Another thing kept nagging me. As I replayed our conversation on the lawn, I had asked what happened and you said:
“I hit a bump and went flying.”
While that seemed to make sense, I still couldn’t believe the outcome.
After a long while you made it back home, arm in a cast and sling. You had been told to keep your arm still, so you took it seriously. I bet your mind was racing as you tried to deal with the reality of being in a new house, in a new state far away from your closest friends, now having to deal with a broken elbow. Here’s what you looked like later that afternoon:
The pain medication had kicked in!
After awhile, Grammy came over to me and told me a little story. Turns out while you were in the ER, you had discussed what had happened and a different version of the story emerged:
“I was trying to pop a wheelie and lost control of my bike.”
Aha!! And there you have it, the rest of the story! Now that’s the Camden I know and love, my hard-charging, spirited, confident young boy who’s always pushing the envelope. This accident wasn’t about me, of course, but somehow you ‘coming clean’ on the accidental event made me feel a little better!
The next day your parents took you to a orthopedic surgeon for an opinion. The news came fast and grim: you’d need immediate surgery because the fracture was complicated and potentially debilitating if it wasn’t addressed immediately. One day later, on October 8, you were under the knife at Mercy Hospital. The nervousness of October 6 returned in spades. This was the first time you had ever been in surgery, and put under by anesthesia.
After what seemed like hours, you woke up and we visited you in your private post-op room. You looked so tiny in that big bed, and the cast around your arm seemed massive. Here’s a photo:
Your surgeon said you’d have to stay in the cast for at least six weeks and any physical activities would be restricted. This meant no school for weeks as you adjusted to the pain medication, cast and sling. And no hockey for months and months.
After we got you home, Grammy and I ventured out to Portland to get your pain medication prescription filled. It took forever as we went from pharmacy to pharmacy. There were complications, but we finally got what you needed and headed back. We were happy to have helped out to put you in a more comfortable position.
Five days later, the Clickman’s came up to see your new house and visit. We went out to eat at Two Lights State Park, then ventured down to the same playground we had tried to reach one week before, this time meeting with success. I could see the old Camden spirit coming alive already, you were raring to go, despite the cast and sling, launching airplanes into the air with your cousins. It would only be only a matter of time before you were attempting to do things well beyond the scope of your Doctor’s advice.
So there you have it, the story of what happened on your very first day in Maine, at your new home, when you were nine years and six days old.
Three final things:
1. It’s all uphill from here Camden! Hang in there, get better, heal well and in a few weeks things will improve. You will get through this – and all life obstacles – because you have an indomitable spirit, confidence, competitiveness and a charming persistence to succeed.
2. I believe I’ve blogged about this before…. you’ve always had an uncanny ability to make a strong entrance as you enter a room. You don’t enter meekly, you charge in, full speed with energy and an agenda. That’s what you did this time around on October 6, 2014 as you entered a new neighborhood in a new State. I’m proud of you!
3. Do all of us a favor next time, keep the grand entrance thing going, but don’t hurt yourself in the process!
What a cool place for a birthday party – a skateboarding park in Hampton, NH. Your friends and cousins joined in and everyone had a blast trying new adventures. Uncle Josh even joined in as he attempted to recreate the days of his youth (uh, he tried hard but didn’t quite get there).
🙂
All the hard surfaces – wood, concrete, ramps, pools – made Grammy very nervous, and I must admit I was too. Yes, you had helmets and pads, but that place is an accident waiting to happen! Fortunately, there weren’t any! The scariest thing was when all of you came out of nowhere and sat on top of the giant wall. 
on the last day of August, you tried surfing for the first time, and stood up on the board on our second or third try!
today was our special summer day together! I picked you up and we discussed a bunch of different possibilities.... then I said "Water country" and your ears perked up. That's what we did! We had a blast going down just about all the slides - some were really fast, some were scary, but we survived, laughed and had great stories to tell. After we left, we ventured over to Lago's Lone Oak and got ourselves some root beer floats. I didn't want the day to end. You later told your Mom, "that was the best day of the summer." I feel the same way Camden!
Grammy and I moved into 44 Waterloo in February 2002. Things were different back then, let me tell you why:
Fast-forward 12 years to Sunday, June 22, 2014:
It’s impossible to remember everything we said and did together at 44 Waterloo. Some of your memories will undoubtedly be shaped by the word “big” – after all it was a bit of a monster with five bedrooms, four floors, seven bathrooms, a giant attic, a hot tub room, exercise room, massively gorgeous kitchen and a warm and inviting office (mine). It had three decks and a big front porch.
The rooms you will probably remember best are the big “basement” (as you called it), aka family room aka Larry Bird room aka Man’s room. And of course running across the beautiful kitchen and giant “Great Room” with the wood fireplace.
So many memories!
Sunday dinners, all together. The sweeping views of the saltwater Piscataqua River from the kitchen and Great room. ‘Hikes’ down to the “sitting rock” and ‘brook.’ Carefully walking down the 59 steps to go across the metal bridge to the big dock. Playing baseball, football, soccer on the front lawn. Sitting on top of the pool table. Me making “Papa Corn.” Playing baseball and football in the basement. Playing “dogcatcher.” Playing “Smoke on the Water” (Loud) in the basement in between periods of our knee hockey games, strumming our fake guitars.
There are hundreds more.
It was a loud house that’s for sure – whenever we got together we noticed how the sound escalated because of the room size and high ceilings, especially the Great Room where the ceilings were over 20 feet high.
For our last get together, Grammy and I did four special things:
2. we had our last Sunday dinner together at 44 Waterloo and everyone actually looked at me and the camera!
3. we got together – the seven of you and me, and then I gave you these instructions: “We’re going to run through every single room in this house, across all four floors. And while we’re running we are going to scream and holler and make all kinds of noise.” And that’s what we did – starting with the Great Room floor, then into the basement, then to the third story, then to the attic. It was a crazy, wild, funny way to say goodbye to 44 Waterloo, to Grammy and Papa’s house, to YOUR grandparents house.
4. we took an official photo in front of the house:
The big house may be gone from our lives, but each of us will remember something special about it. That’s the best part, isn’t it? The memories we create. That’s all any of us ever leave behind in the end. Remember this – always. Make sure when people think about you they will be filled with positive, inspirational, kind, fun, uplifting thoughts. Those are the best kind of memories because they fill people’s souls with warmth, sunshine and smiles.