My Firstborn is 18!!!

In my mind, I tried to put off this moment for the last several years.  Surely my baby boy, the treasure of my heart, my firstborn, was NOT becoming an ADULT!  How could this possibly be happening?!?  Where did the years go?!?  Wasn’t it just yesterday that we were on the floor playing with dinosaurs and Rescue Heroes?  Weren’t we snuggling in the overstuffed chair every night reading piles and piles of his favorite bedtime stories?!?

I just can’t fathom that 18 years have flown by in what seems like an instant.  How I treasure this child!  He’s my son, yes…but he’s also my friend, my companion, and my partner in crime.  We’re alike in so many ways, yet so different in many others.  He has the best parts of me and Steve.  He has Steve’s sense of humor and desire to make others laugh, and he has my sense of adventure and spontaneity.  I love him for his heart of compassion for others, his willingness to try new things, and his fun but caring personality. 

I love that we can talk about anything.  And even when we fight or disagree, we eventually make up and end it with a hug and an “I love you.”  He is near and dear to my heart, and it has been both a challenge and an immeasurable joy to be his mother…a privilege given to me by God and immensely appreciated.  I am so unworthy in so many ways, yet he shows me the unconditional love that children inevitably have for their parents. 

I’m so thankful that we have a special bond that can never be broken.  We’ll always look out for each other.  Watching the years go by and knowing he needed me less and less was a painful process, but we have such a good relationship that I was able to accept it as part of God’s plan to watch him evolve into this gradually more independent young man.  I got to watch him blossom and grow into a good person who has had a positive impression on those around him in the world.  He has let his light shine so that others might see.  What more could I ask for?

We celebrated his 18th birthday with his requested birthday lunch of shrimp cocktail and dinner of ribs and mashed potatoes, and we ended the day with his favorite pineapple upside down cupcakes, which are a real labor of love.  He got an Xbox One game he was really looking forward to getting for his birthday, and he received a couple of cards in the mail.  And on the next business day, we headed to the public safety office to get him a real, full-fledged TX driver’s license!  He was so happy when it finally came in the mail this week.  And he also received his selective service notice, so even the government knows he’s now an adult!  He also headed out to turn in his very first job application this week. 

Times are changing in the Burgess household! 

I hope you had the happiest of birthdays, my dear boy!  I love you dearly.