Monday, March 12, 2012

18


{photo credit:  Matt Miranda}

You, my son are 18 TODAY!

18!

Happy Birthday!

Oh where to begin?  At this point, I feel as though there are no tears left to cry. 
Dad and I are so very proud of the young man you have become.  Although you are no longer a little boy, there will always be parts of you that will remind me of “little you”. 

From the second I saw you, it was a blur as the tears streamed down my cheeks. It was pure joy that I had YOU in my arms! 
At close to a month early, you were STRONG, alert, and full of life.



Our first conversation was me, your momma, holding you close to my lips and me whispering into your itty bitty ear…”no matter what happens, I will always LOVE you.”  You had no idea what your momma was saying, but it was a promise I gave to you right from the start.  I had no idea why I said that, but as I reflect on the last 18 years, I am pretty sure God put those words on my heart to gift to you.



As Dad and I are sitting here reflecting back, there are some things that just make us laugh!!

*For Halloween one year, you wanted to be a cowboy mouse.  Your sis had you loving a mouse movie...and you loved anything to do with cowboys.  Needless to say there were no costumes that matched your criteria.  So, you made your own!  One momma came up to me and thought we couldn't afford a costume and felt so sorry for us...but I was the happiest, most proud momma at the costume parade, because I knew that I had one determined, creative boy who was not ashamed to be himself!




Let’s see…shortly after moving into our home, I had gone to the back restroom and honestly, I was only gone for minutes, but you had managed to open the garage door and wander down to the intersection at the end of our street in your cloth diapers and cowboy boots!  Imagine how horrified I was when the neighbor, whom we had not even met, rang the doorbell to bring you home!  Aside from having no idea how you had figured that out…I was so afraid they were going to call the cops!

*Stacking wood for hours and hours before Daddy  got home from work.  YEP, at three you  dubbed yourself “the workin’ man”…because you wanted to be just like your Daddy and like Poppi.




*Climbing the tree about 30 feet up before yelling, “hey, dad, look up HERE!”

*Roasting marshmallows with your best friend over the candle in the bathroom…and not finding out about it until his momma called.  NOT OKAY! 
And then deciding next time, it would be a better idea to just go ahead and have a fire pit in the bedroom instead!  NOT!!


*My Wednesday date days with you…both of us in our camo gear treading the creeks and wetlands and sitting in musty, muddy forts.  I am so thankful you invited me into “your world”.

*Once your fort was finally complete…and it took a whole extra year because you financed it on your own…all the way down to the last box of nails, we celebrated by you fixing it all up comfy and cozy for the whole family to enjoy.  I think you had every pillow, blanket and dog toy jammed into every last bit of space you could find.  We popped popcorn and pretended it was the best spot in town until the wee hours of the morning…when we were achy, hot and still AWAKE!

*Believe it or not, digging in dirt, moving all the rocks from the rock bed, pulling junipers, clam digging, cleaning fish, and seeing the skinned squirrel and trying to save baby birds have endeared me to who YOU are...and I know without a shadow of doubt, who to call when in need!



*I think my favorite time with you was close to Christmas and you so badly wanted me to come out to the fort to see the Christmas lights from the loft.  It was freezing out and your big blue eyes looked so disappointed as I tried to come up with as many excuses as possible…one being it was past your bedtime.  You decided to heat a rice bag for me and make me HOT Ovaltine…if I would venture out with you.  How could I refuse?  So, up we climbed into the loft with our hot drinks, blankets and the battery operated radio.  It is one of my most cherished memories.  We chatted and spied out of the window and listened to stories and Christmas music.  SIMPLY DELIGHTFUL!

*Knocking on neighbors doors to sell painted rocks in order to raise money for the homeless shelter.  Again, we had no idea until a neighbor brought down a check made out to us for FOOD!  But it was your tender heart that so badly wanted to help in a very real way.  As far as you were concerned, it was YOUR job!

*Rodeo camp, summer camps, hunting, basketball, baseball, soccer, a broken arm, a broken wrist, a broken rib, a fractured skull, monkey bites, and a jelly fish sting...all things that may put a damper on life, but you took every situation in stride and didn't complain ONCE!  I complained and cried for YOU!



Sometimes, as parents, we just want everybody to know the child  WE know.  The child who is tender-hearted and who is deeply concerned for others.  The child who snuggles and who still hugs and loves his big sister like no other!  The child who comes to check on his dad…and who IS the man of the house when Dad is gone!  The child who is willing to do things that most others are not willing to do.  A child who still knows Grammy better than the rest of us... We are blessed to have YOU, dear Caleb.






We are so very proud of you!  You are truly a blessing to all those who know and who love you and to those you have yet to meet!


…and even though you enjoy relaxation and adventure...














You will always be our "workin man"!





We LOVE you to the moon and back and back AGAIN!






14 comments:

  1. What a wonderful tribute to this young man. I noticed that it appears he had surgery at some point-was that for his broken skull? MyHero had brain surgery many years ago for a non-cancerous tumor. He still has some side effects from it. I think that is one of the scariest surgeries anyone can have. Love to you and your precious son- xo Diana

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    1. Hi Nana Diana...yes, Caleb had a near fatal accident when he was only 10. It was the most.awful thing ever, but through it we grew and became more dependent on God. How great that your hubby's tumor was not cancerous. When situations like this happen to others, we think it isn't possible that if we were in the situation that we could cope, but by God's grace, He allows us to make it through...stronger and with gratitude.

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  2. Oh Lisa, so beautiful! My little boy turns 18 in a few weeks, and I could FEEL your love for your son through your words. Thank you for sharing this with us. Sigh...I feel like I'm stumbling through these next two months as we approach adulthood, graduation, college plans...sigh. I know you understand. What a blessed young man to have YOU for his mom!

    Heather

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  3. My son will be 20 this year and I can still remember the first words I said to him! I can't believe I told him I would go through it all again (an arduous 20 hour labour!) just to have him. So that verse in the Bible about the mother forgetting the pain of labour is so very true! Wow, It's a year of celebrations in your home Lisa. My daughter will turn 18 at the end of the year and she is already planning her party! You have me thinking now about putting my 'mother' thoughts about what she means to me and our family into writing.

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    1. Yes. You must record your thoughts. It is a blessing for our children to know our thoughts on them in different seasons of life...and when we are gone, they will know just how loved they were! I hope you enjoy writing down your sweet memories...

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  4. Such a wonderful tribute to your son! Brought tears to my eyes!

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  5. Beautiful, beautiful tribute...and it made my eyes leak. :-) He is quite the young man! Wishing him a Happy Birthday, congratulations on graduating and all good things for his future.

    xo
    Pat

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  6. Thank you, friends for sharing in the celebration of our son...you are all the very.very best bloggy friends ever! Hugs to each of you.

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  7. What a beautiful post Lisa, it brought tears to my eyes. I hope your son had a wonderful birthday!

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  8. Lisa...how beautiful!!! Happy birthday to your son!! May God Bless him with many more wonderful years and may he always have a heart to love and serve the Lord!!!

    Love to you! xo

    Rene' @ barganhoot

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  9. Happy happy birthday, Caleb! We love you!

    The Harris Fam

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  10. Lisa, this is beautiful!
    Happy Birthday, dear Caleb! May God continue to bless you in your adult life!
    ~Lynne
    [w/L]

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  11. Lisa... What a beautiful, heartfelt, precious tribute to your boy on his 18th birthday. Happy Birthday, Caleb! I read this post while sitting next to my 2 year old boy on the couch, watching his favorite program... Drinking his bottle and holding my hand. I am glad to have the years laid out ahead of me and look forward to the treasures the years will hold.

    It is obvious that you are such an amazing, loving, generous mama to your children. I was blessed and impressed to see how you "embraced" all that a magical boyhood had to offer and that you maximized his adventurous spirit and provided many outlets for him to be a "little man.". Kudos to you! Enjoy your time with him. Paula Romer

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  12. How Sweet to remind your Son how Very Much He is Loved and all the Things you Love about Him(: We don't know each other, but from one Mom to another...Hope your Son has a Wonderful 18th Birthday!

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