Milestone Year

April 5th marks my son's 21st birthday. I'm not sure where the years have gone. It seems like just yesterday that the stork dropped him off on our doorstep! I've watched him grow from a baby to a toddler, learning to sit, to crawl to walk, and talk (at two he could recite his alphabet backwards which was quite a feat). I held his little hand as I walked him to the bus to see him off on his first day of school (the whole time trying not to let him see me cry as the bus pulled up at the curb). A few weeks later it was hard not to cry when he asked me not to hold his hand because he was too big for that. I watched him mature into a teenager, a great student, a mentor to others and a very good quarterback (starting qb for five years on the senior team at high school). He was always (and still is) very responsible and wise beyond his years. I saw him through a few girlfriends (he realizes now that every relationship as a teen will not be a lifelong commitment) and I saw him go through the heartache of losing a best friend in a tragic hockey accident. The latter is something that no young person should ever have to go through (nor should any parent have to go through losing a child). It has been a difficult few years dealing with the grief and disbelief of such a loss. I am glad that he had the opportunity of this friendship as he still strives to live up to the high standards that his friend expected of him. His friend was a few years older and would have turned 21 the year that he died. Something has changed in our relationship since then. My son is a little more guarded in what he confides in me and how much of his feelings he shares. Maybe it's just part of growing up but I really miss the long talks that we used to have and him coming to me for advice. We were so close and he used to tell me everything. Now he is about to become an adult. My son will be a man (from a guy's standpoint he's been a man for a while but legally he's about to become one).

This coming fall he plans to transfer Universities which means he will move away from home (I'm going to miss him dearly). He's been working really hard this year to get his life back on track (he spent a year in a complete tailspin reeling from his friend's death and the next year trying to catch back up). His marks are back up to his over achieving standards and he will be back to playing football. Boy I have missed seeing him play football!! I can't wait to go to the first game and see him take that first snap again. You see for 10 years we lived, slept and ate football at our house so the hiatus that he took to deal with the blow life had thrown him was very difficult. It was like he had taken a big part of our life away too. The upcoming year should be exciting!

So begins a new chapter in our lives. It's actually going to be a milestone year for all three of my children. My eldest daughter will turn 18 in the summer and my youngest daughter will turn 13. The years are just flying by. I wish I could slow down time but we all know that is not an option. Cherish every moment you have with your children because before you know it they will be grown up, married and having children of their own. Wait, I don't want to think that far ahead! I think I will try to take it one day at a time. I'm nowhere near ready for Grandparenting!!!!