Happy Birthday Anthony Scott Jenkin! (Designer of "Over the Coffee")
My dear son, who goes by Tony, is 34 years old today. Can it be?! Before I celebrate the "good stuff", let me cleanse my system of all of the clichés we evidently must endure as our children age.
----Oh, the time goes by so quickly! (Am I really this old?)
----Oh, he was such a good baby! (Except when he was teething).
----Oh, I remember when he first walked! (At nine months; so excited he never napped again).
----Oh, I remember when he lost his first tooth!(Literally, I dropped it down the kitchen drain).
----Oh I remember his first day in kindergarten! (I cried the whole morning).
----Oh, I remember his high school graduation!(I cried for joy).
----Oh, I remember when he left for college!(I cried for months).
Those are memories, milestones of every mother (well maybe not the baby tooth down the drain). And yes, for the record, motherhood yields LOTS of tears. Thankfully, those tears yield to LOTS of joy.
Today, there are no tears---just a grateful heart at celebrating not with a child, but with a young man. I am thankful that I not only love Tony, but I really LIKE Tony! I love that he is a thinker, a connector, a truth-finder, and a creator. I love that he is a giver and encourager and teacher. I love his humor, his zeal for the outdoors, his physical and emotional fitness. I love that he is curious, and that he loves to learn.
I watch with admiration as he makes his way through a tough world, faces daunting challenges emotionally and physically for being only 34, and lands on his feet with grace, truth and humor. I am cheered as he presses in to find answers for himself, and for the world around him that are not so easy to find in this day and age. I wonder at his courage, but I am happy to be with him in his journey. So I say " Happy Birthday Tony!" Love you dear son, Mom
