working its way around town. Through that night, our trip remained up in the
air. Separately, in Greeley and Imperial, Sonja and I prayed that Colton
would feel well enough to make the trip and by morning, we got our answer:
yes!
During the night, Colton’s fever broke and by afternoon on Friday, he
was his old self again. Sonja called to tell me: “We’re on our way!”
Now, at the Butterfly Pavilion, Sonja checked her watch. We were
scheduled to meet Steve Wilson, the pastor of Greeley Wesleyan Church,
and his wife, Rebecca, for dinner that evening, and the kids still wanted to
get in a swim at the hotel pool. There was zero chance of them swimming
in Imperial in March, so this was a rare opportunity. “Okay, we should
probably head back to the hotel,” Sonja said.
I looked at her and then at Colton. “Hey, bud, it’s time to go. Are you still
sure you don’t want to hold Rosie?” I said. “Last chance to get a sticker.
What do you think?”
Emotions played over Colton’s face like sunshine and clouds in a fast-
moving weather front. By now, even his big sister had been ribbing him a
little about being afraid. As I watched, Colton narrowed his eyes and set
his jaw: he wanted that sticker.
“Okay, I’ll hold her,” he said. “But just for a little bit.”
Before he could change his mind, we all trooped back into the Crawl-A-
See-Um, and I corralled the keeper. “This is Colton, and he wants to give it
a try,” I said.
The keeper smiled and bent down. “Okay, Colton, are you ready?”
Stiff as a board, our son held out his hand, and I bent over and cradled it
in my own.
“Now, this is super easy, Colton,” the keeper said. “Just hold your hand
out flat and still. Rosie is very gentle. She won’t hurt you.”
The keeper raised his hand, and Rosie sidled over to Colton’s hand and
back to the keeper’s waiting hand on the other side, never even slowing
down. We all broke into cheers and clapped for Colton as the keeper
handed him his sticker. He had faced his fear! It was a big victory for him.
The moment seemed like icing on the cake of a perfect day.
As we left the Butterfly Pavilion, I reflected back over the past several