When women go into labor on TV, they have their babies rather quickly. This is precisely the reason that I thought my mom, dad, and I should shoot out of the bed in the wee hours of the morning on April 1, 2002, when my brother called to say that his wife was in labor. Little did I know that Gretchen’s labor would last many hours and that the wait for my first nephew would be so long. I remember watching Daniel and Gretchen go for walks to try to speed along the labor, and I remember the moment when Daniel came out of the delivery room with a triumphant look on his face and announced, “It’s a Boy! Jack A. Deaton.” He was so radiantly happy in that moment that tears filled my eyes.
Ever since he was born, Jack has been special to me. Just as I’ve done with each of my nephews and niece, I held Jack as a baby and prayed blessings upon his life. I prayed that God would allow him to grow into his fullness and that his life would be used to impact many people in a positive way. I prayed for health and happiness, courage and respect, safety and no bullying, knowledge and the freedom to pursue whatever career path he wants. I prayed that Jack would know that he was loved unconditionally and that God would help me do everything I could to be a steady, welcoming, and encouraging presence in his life. [I still pray these prayers today even though Jack’s feet are already larger than mine and holding him isn’t as much of an option anymore!]...
So when my best friend Angela offered to let me read (with my ears) her Harry Potter Collection, I finally decided to do it. I’d heard about the Harry Potter series for years, but I’d never read them. Yet Jack has read them—a couple of times—and he wanted to be Harry Potter for Halloween—and I wanted to be able to talk with him intelligently about the story line—and so I read them. And I’m so glad.
Jack and I have had many HP conversations over the past few months, and those conversations have led to talks about the creative process of writing, character development, imagination, good vs. evil, how stories move us, how stories move from page to screen, and much more...
During one of our literary discussions, Jack told me he was writing a chapter book based off of the Lego game Heroica. No big deal. All fourth grade boys use their time in the car to write chapter books, right?
Evidently, Jack completed the book, typed it, selected the fonts for it, edited it, wrote a sleeve cover description for it, and published it, because when I opened my Christmas present this year, I found a book entitled, “Draida,” by Jack Deaton.
When I sat down at the kitchen table to read it, my niece, Amelia, was having a little snack, and asked if I’d read the story aloud. By the time I finished reading, all of new nephews had joined us and were thoroughly enjoying the story! It was well-written, interesting, and engaging—so much so that my nephew, Griffin, couldn’t believe that his role-model, Jack, had written it!
Before Jack left that day, I asked if he’d autograph my book. He did. He first signed his name—in cursive—then put the date—then I asked him to put, “To Dee.” So he did. And then, completely on his own, he put, “My biggest fan.”
Yep, Jack. You got it. Your Aunt Dee is your biggest fan. On the day you were born. Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow. Always...
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