IT's Birthday!

Junior modeling thermohaline oceanic currents in my Marine Science Class.

Seventeen years ago, we went to the hospital for a scheduled C-section birth. It seems that the baby within was so huge at over 11 pounds that a normal delivery was not the preferred method.

So off we went, ... check in at 7:00 am, baby due at 8:30 am ... like a dental appointment, it lacked the surprise and drama of the other two children who dropped in unexpectedly on a whim. I remember all week long at work thinking ..."At 8:30 am on Friday, I will have a new baby" ... it just seemed weird to know the arrival time.

I don't think I was very focused that week.

I was clueless to the sex of the pending arrival even though everyone else in the county had been informed of an earlier ultrasound picture that confirmed it would be a boy.

Although I was hoping for the variety pack, I was having so much fun with my two little girls that it didn't matter one bit who emerged.


Like any parent, my guiding thought was ... just let IT be healthy.

Now, 17 years later, "IT" seems to be pretty healthy. It eats like a horse, is almost as fast as one, and last night in the local high school football arena, it made a touchdown and some great tackles.

IT has a big kind heart to go with some pretty big muscles ...

" Hey Dad, I looked pretty ripped in that water tank picture with Bear."

"Yes son, the whole internet noticed."

IT has a sense of humor and a clever wit that keeps us laughing and shaking our heads.


IT wants to be a writer and disappears for long hours to emerge with essays and stories that show great promise.

Time with IT has slipped by too quickly, but isn't that true for any child?

Think back and you can remember being a kid and having your Mom or Dad rub your head and say to some relative, " Yes, they are growing up too fast."

In fact, you heard that over and over again, and probably thought, "Gee, it seems to be taking a pretty long time to me."

Then when you become a parent ... you see the truth (and feel the bittersweet) in that statement.

To quote Kermit The Frog, " It is the way of things."

We are celebrating Junior's birthday with chocolate cake ( a cake with no eggs, but vinegar is an ingredient), gifts, a dinner out, and a little extra spoiling of the baby boy.

(As if being the only boy and the baby hadn't resulted in enough spoiling.)

So, it's a birthday weekend here deep in the Pure Florida woods.
Feel free to celebrate in your own manner!

The first gift seems to be courtesy of mother nature as a cool breeze is flowing in from up north this morning ... the first real fall temp we have felt.

I will probably be able to excuse myself and go off seeking photos while they are all glued to the TV later today watching the Florida Gators whip up on Tennessee.

They won't miss me for a couple of hours ... not until the game is over anyway.