This boy.....

Twenty-six years ago today I gave birth to this beautiful baby boy!  He has changed my life in ways I never could have imagined.  I never would have imagined on that beautiful sunny day that he would bring me so much joy and happiness, and heartache sometimes too.   I can still see his little face as I dropped him off the first time at a daycare center and how my heart ached because I wanted to be with him all hours of the day.  I didn’t want someone else raising him, but I had to pay the bills, and I just always tried to remember to cherish the hours I was with him and enjoy them.   I still see his smiling little face as he boarded the school bus to head off to his first day of kindergarten.  I can still see my tall, lanky boy as he headed into the high school on that first day of freshman year.  How I worried so much for him that he’d get lost in that sea of 1700 students.  I think that first day of high school was harder on me than his first day of kindergarten.  He was just that much closer to being an adult and not my little boy any longer.  But he did fine, as he always has and I couldn’t have been prouder.  I still can see my boy – playing with his friends at Amazon Student Housing – bounding out of bed almost daily excited that he could go out and play with all of his friends.  I still his little face as he tried to charge 25 cents for his friends to be able to come into our yard and view the large tadpole he caught at a close-by canal.  I can still see his face having so much fun hanging out with his friend Rio in his early teen years and how I wished I could have made time stand still then and saved that innocence.  I’m proud of this boy when I recall a phone conversation with his seventh grade teacher telling me that he had such a kind heart and had befriended a special needs boy in the class and was so kind and patient with him.  I can still see his face when years later, he endured his first heartache over a girl.  How my heart ached for him.  I was so worried that there seemed to be nothing I could do to heal his aching heart.  This kid though, he’s a strong one.  He came through some tough times and chose to move forward and move on even though his heart was breaking.  I’m proud of this boy, because he shows so much strength and courage.   My heart is so happy and thankful today for this boy – that he has been such a blessing in my life.  I am so very lucky!  Happy Birthday Keith – I love you more than you can ever know.   I am so grateful every day to call you my son!   Love you – Mom XOXOXOXO