Birthday Eve
By the time I post this, it will actually be The Boy’s 16th birthday. But now, as I am writing it, it is just his Birthday Eve.
It’s hard to imagine that sixteen years ago tonight, I was in such pain but so happy about it. There had been a false alarm the week before and all of us were ready to get it over and done with. It was really hot that summer… not much rain and my parents had actually run the well dry (that happened with regularity every summer). I was big and miserable, and anxious to meet the little guy who had been poking me in the ribs for the past few months.
That night, I certainly wasn’t thinking about this night. It is not just Birthday Eve, but it is Driver Permit Eve. Yes, the grand world of driving will be opening up for my little boy. Except, of course, he is no longer little. I can no longer deny that he is growing up, becoming his own person, and getting ready to leave the nest. I still have a few years before college, but with the driver’s license comes the real independence.
Here’s where we all learn if he’s got the skills to get by in life – learning to juggle school, work, fun, relationships, and activities. Here’s where he can fail and still have a safety net.
I’m sure he can do it… he’s a great kid with a pretty good head on his shoulders. He has plans, goals and ambitions. Someone asked me recently what I wanted for him to be when he grew up. My answer was – I want him to be happy and successful, but by his definitions, not by mine.
So that is my birthday wish for The Boy – happiness and success, by his definitions, whatever they may be.