A Decade with Cam

November 19, 2025

A Decade with Cam

Cam turned 10 years old on November 16th!

When we had friends over earlier this month for dinner and played The Newlywed Game, one of the questions that I asked the men was "Name the person who has had the most significant influence on your life." Three out of five answered "my mom." I'm not sure why I was so surprised by that, but it really stuck with me.

I'm not sure how Cam will answer that question when he is an adult - he has a lot of people pouring so much love into his life! - but I can tell you one thing for certain: no one could possibly love him more than I do.

Cam has been my sidekick for 10 years. I have given so much time, energy, and love to that child and it has never once felt like a sacrifice (except for maybe the first 12 weeks of life when he was colicky ;-)).

We do everything together. We have explored so many new places. We have had so many adventures. We have slept overnight in an baggage terminal. We have walked hundreds of miles. We have lived so many ordinary days.

It's hard to believe that we have packed SO MUCH into his first ten years of life.

It definitely helped that he was an only child for his first 8 years. That time together was a gift. Brian and I had one central focus!

Cam has been blessed with loving family, a stable home, good health, a strong support system, an amazing neighborhood, best friends next door, good teachers, and a great experiences at day care and elementary school.

If you imagined a perfect childhood, you would not have to look any further. I am so thankful to God for giving us these past 10 years together.

It's very easy to divide the past decade of Cam's life right down the middle: pre-2020 and post-2020.

In his first five years, I was fortunate to have a lot of help in raising him. He spent a lot of time with Grandma and Granddaddy and stayed overnight with them many weekends. Brian's mom was close by, so we had help from her too! My sister has also played a huge role in the life of my kids and has been there for everything. Cam was at the same day care these first five years. Life was just rolling along, but then

Everything changed in 2020.

Covid happened. The day care closed. My work situation changed dramatically. My parents kept him much less often. Brian's mom passed away from breast cancer. We essentially lost our babysitting options that year, so Cam started coming with us to restaurants and movies. Brian and I were not going out as often anyhow due to the masking requirements and closures, but now Cam had to join us everywhere. We were home a lot, and this is the point in time when Cam started playing with the neighbors' kids outside everyday. We cleared our woods, which was a gamechanger. We started using the dining room more often for games, puzzles, Kiwi crates, playdoh. Cam's school situation changed multiple times and I discovered he was adaptable to pretty much anything.

Life slowed down.

It was the change we didn't know we needed.

In these past 10 years, Cam has played soccer, swimming, ice skating, hockey, golf, and baseball. He is involved with church and has done tons of camps.

He has travelled to the beach and mountains. He has been to FL, MD, VA, TN, SC, WA, AK, UT, AZ, and CO. He got his passport and went to Costa Rica. His favorite vacation is always our annual Outer Banks beach week.

I may be biased, but I feel like anyone that knows Cam would agree he is such a joy. He is friendly, kind, adventurous, smart, and talented. He tries new things. He is responsible and respectful. He is independent. He is a good friend. He loves animals. He loves the outdoors.