January 11

Today is my birthday. I spent much of it looking for Logan. As evening approached and my search remained without fruit, a distinct sense of discouragement began to set in. And then, on the way to dinner, everything suddenly changed, right there on Stoneridge Drive between our house and the Cheesecake Factory.

Adam decided, out of the blue, to turn up the radio's volume. We were pleased --heartened, even-- to hear the first bars of "Life is a Highway", which is not only the Cars theme song, but one of Logan's personal favorites. I decided, spur-of-the-moment style, to record Abby, Isaac and Brady groovin' to the beat. Moments later, Abby and Isaac began chirping about a nearby yellow car. Abby insisted --aggressively-- that I record the car. I didn't. But I did turn around. And I saw this:

For the non-Cars-initiated, it may not mean much, but that bright yellow Pontiac GTO meant an awful lot to us. Earlier today, while I was co-oping in Isaac's preschool classroom, Adam and Brady watched a batch of Cars Toons. One of the mini-episodes features a minor character known as Nurse GTO, who is, as it happens, a bright yellow Pontiac GTO.

Although she's a minor character, that particular little car meant a lot to Logan: He gave his favorite hospital staffer, the blonde haired, blue eyed hem/onc nurse practitioner named Molly, that very car a few years ago. She told me recently that she still keeps it on her desk and thinks of him when she sees it.

I know it was a colossal wink. I felt it. I'm not sure I'd ever even seen a yellow GTO until today (probably because, after a quick check, I saw that only 2,464 were ever made in yellow jacket). And I'm grateful that he found --or was given-- an unexpected and creative way to say hello when I really needed a sign.