Happy 16th Birthday, Nolan!

Happy Birthday, Nolan!  I wonder if it's selfish on my part, that I want to celebrate today, too?  Whew, Nolan, you were not an easy labor!  Dr. Johnson warned me I should never share my birth story with any soon to be mom!  From the moment my water broke and it was the color of "pea soup," my birth "plan" went right out the window.  It was the day I would discover who was really in charge of how this thing would go- and it was not me.  

"A boy is truth with dirt on it's face,

beauty with a cut on its finger,

wisdom with bubble gum in its hair,

and the hope of the future with a frog in its pocket."

-- Author Unknown

From a 16 hour labor, and 4 hours of pushing, with both the mighty-vac trying to help get you out, and then the mighty forceps that finally turned you and sprung you free... whew, boy, you were a labor of love.  

Every day, you've stretched me.  Made me reach higher, while digging deeper.  Helped my arms grow wider, and my love to multiply in ways I've never known.  You've helped me see the world in ways I've never thought possible.    

Like when you were 2, and decided to shower your freshly cleaned nursery, with baby powder, while you were supposed to be napping.  Not a surface was left untouched.  And when I tiptoed into the room and found you climbing back into your crib?  You beamed at what you had accomplished.  I huffed my way to the vacuum, as mad as I could be.  I cleaned, and dusted, and worked my way through trying to restore order... only to turn and see you standing there.  With a big cheesy smile on your face, and that darn bottle of powder, you gleefully held it up and squirted the last few shots out of it, then danced underneath the shower of it...

And you got me.  I collapsed in the sheer absurdity of it all, tears streaming of frustration that quickly turned to laughter.  It WAS funny.  I was truly just beginning to see the world though new eyes. You and I, from the very beginning, have forged a bond together that can never be broken.  

 You've never stopped teaching me since.  And I long to know, where you're going to take me next?  Your impish smile, never-ending thirst for activity and adventure, and ability to still reach your arms all the way around me, enclosing me in a hug that could carry me forever.  

At six days old, and now sixteen years old... at just six pounds, and now 6 foot tall, I think of that book we read over and over again...

“I’ll love you forever,

I’ll like you for always,

as long as I’m living

my baby you’ll be.” 

Robert Munsch