LOOKING BACK OVER 21 YEARS

 

Was it any surprise when I asked my son if I could throw him a party for his 21st Birthday and his quick response was, NO.

I mean, come on this is the mom who loves throwing parties (and I’m quite good at it). But then again this is the kid who at age 7 asked me how much I would be spending on throwing his birthday party and then proceeded to think for a minute and quickly responded with, “forget the stupid party, just buy me more gifts”. Smart kiddo.

I don’t believe he’s really had a big party since he was six years old, he just doesn’t care for being center of attention.  

But that doesn’t mean he isn’t a whole lot of fun, in fact the kid has more friends and loves life more than any other person I know.

Since he refused to let me throw him a big 21st birthday party, I at least wanted to throw him a blog post . . .

So here’s 21 fun facts about this wonderful young man.

* His first word spoken was ball and believe me, we heard it often.  

* He loved every kind of ball and activity associated with this round object.

* He believed at a young age that being Number #1 was very important.

* His competitive drive started I think before he was born.

* He has always been very independent (this photo is his first day of kindergarten). I can still remember him telling me, with that crazy grin on his face, that no, I didn’t need to walk him into class, duh he was in kindergarten now.

* At age three in preschool they had to bring something they liked to collect, he wanted to bring his friends. (What a wonderful thing to collect). I believe he is still adding to this collection.

* He developed a great imagination and gift for story telling at a young age, always telling great stories to his teachers (most of them completely untrue but they sure believed every word he said), like the time his kindergarten teacher believed his story of having center row tickets to the super bowl game, yea right.

* He is not afraid to stand alone and make a difference.

* He has always been willing to give unconditiionally of his time, talents, and money.

* His favorite thing to do with his mom when he was 4 and I would pick him up from preschool was to go buy “happy meals” and find homeless people to hand them out to. 

* He taught me at a young age how to love others unjudgmentally.

* He knows the meaning of obedience . . .

* and determination . . .

* and self worth.

* He knew how to get involved in school and make a difference.

* No matter what kind of team he played on, he knew how to be a leader and give 100%.

* He knew how to follow a dream . . 

* He knows the importance of being spiritual . . .

* He knows the importance of family . . .

* He knows the importance of always being the best you can be . . . and then still trying to be a little bit better.

* On this, his 21st Birthday he chose to spend it with his best friend, his dad, by picking up one of those balls and heading out for a round of 18 holes of golf.

Yes, I feel truly blessed to have been chosen to be his mother.