Happy Mother's Day

Fourteen years ago, Tyler was born into our family. Even after all these years, I marvel that I am a mother. Even more, I marvel that such amazing children were sent to our family. I've spent the morning thinking about Ty as a baby, as a little boy and now as a young man.

Never, in the history of mankind, was there a baby as cute as Tyler- until Emily, then Randy and of course, Lucy came along. We would get stopped in public and everyone would want to touch his "baby mohawk," the fluffy hair that could not and would not be tamed. Just before his first birthday, we showed up for extended family pictures with his hair slicked back and neat. My family had a fit. It just wasn't "him." Maybe that's why he wants to keep his hair so short now, because it was a big attention-grabber when he was little.

When I had my first parent/teacher conference during Tyler's preschool years, his teacher told me that she had never met a four-year-old child, much less a boy, that was as empathetic and considerate of his class-mates as my son. He is still extremely concerned about how others feel. Even though he has a core set of best buddies, he often invites kids from school and church over to our house that don't often get included in other's groups. I'm grateful that he has kept that empathy and I think that trait will bless him in the future.

Tyler has always been extremely bright. In elementary school, he would often ask me complicated scientific questions. My answer was always, "I don't know. Ask your dad." He loved sitting next to his dad at the dinner table discussing math and physics- stuff that was way over my head. One day when he was about 10, as we were driving in the car, he told Emily all about "splitting atoms" and causing nuclear reactions that would result in catastrophic explosions. Amused, I listened to his explanation, marveling at how much he knew. Emily was skeptical. "Mom," she asked. "Is Tyler telling the truth?" I told her that with the tiny bit of nuclear physics I knew, it sounded like he had the right idea. Her eyes grew wide and she said, "Well, I hope we don't accidently break any atoms."

Like every teen-ager I've ever known, Ty has struggled a bit in the transition from elementary to junior high school. However, I'm marveling at the difference a year can make and about how mature this fourteen-year-old Tyler is. As he left for school this morning, he came back into the house for one more hug and to tell me that he loved me. I hugged him back and kissed the top of his head, and wondered how much longer it would be that I would be able to do that. Will he ever outgrow the need for his mom's hugs? Will he outgrow me physically? Emotionally? Spiritually? I can't think about the answer to those questions for very long. Of course, my deepest desire is that Ty grows and matures into a responsible adult that might not need his mother's security and strength. But for now, I'm grateful he does. And I'll hold onto that as long as I can.

Happy Birthday, Tyler!

I love you!