My Son

I can't sing the praises and highlight the talents of one child without giving equal time to her older brother. These two children are as different as any two human beings can be, but they share a strong bond braided with love and respect. Older by nine years, my son has always had an interesting mix of competition and protectiveness towards his sister. While I was pregnant with my daughter I heard lots of comments about how fortunate I was to have had my children so far apart which would remove any chance of competition between them. Quite the opposite was true from the very beginning. They weren't as close as I would have expected when they were younger, but that changed as they grew older. I find a lot of comfort in watching their friendship deepen as they age, and I can see them as adults having the kind of sibling relationship that many lament not having.

My son is very creative, but in a totally different way than my daughter. He has one of those minds, that can envision not only a finished project, but the steps to get him there. He was the lego king growing up, Rarely did he make a lego kit without immediately tearing it down, and then rebuilding it in his own way. I still buy him a lego kit every year for Christmas. I have started scouring eBay for the "vintage" kits that will bring back memories for him.

His mind was so inquisitive, it was completely exhausting. I literally had to be watching him every moment to keep him from harms way. As a four year old, he sat in the dining room of the restaurant I was going to be part of running and watched the electricians put the wiring in. He sat enthralled for hours, watching their every move. My next day off, I went to the bathroom (quickly), only to return to our living room in time to see him cutting the cord of the television (running) with my rose pruners. I became a bad cartoon character in slow motion as I leapt the length of the room in one bound to knock the pruners out of his hand just as he was cutting through the wire. Well, I have kept the pruners with the neat little circular hole burnt through as a momento of one serious zapping...Thankfully, I got the zap, not him!

During his kindergarten screening, he was given several blocks, and shown a "bridge" that he was to build just as the teacher had built it. After knocking it down, she asked him to reconstruct it. He built a bridge, but quite unlike the one the teacher had built. He got the teacher-like disapproving look...(the first of many!), and a tolerant explanation of what he did wrong. He looked at her with his most cherub-like smile and proceeded to show her why his bridge was much stronger than hers, and perhaps she would rather build it like that in the future!

He has always been his own little man, doing things in his own way, in his own time. I struggled as a single mother, as I suppose most do with not being all that he needed. It is easier raising a daughter alone than a son. How do you work several jobs, make sure the house is clean, the laundry is done, healthy meals are prepared, help with the homework, make repairs, do the lawn, and have the ability to impart the lessons that only a man can teach his son? This haunted me, and I constantly worried that I was doing it all wrong. Ask this young many today how he feels his childhood was and you will hear the stories of a man who sounds like he grew up in the best environment anyone could ever ask for. He is respectful, loving kind, patient, hardworking, adorable, handsome and tolerant. These are attributes that are the cornerstone of a fine man.

Approaching this Mother's Day, I find myself thankful for having the strength to not take the easy roads with my children. Thankful for the love and patience that I was filled with during some difficult years. Thankful for being able to wait it out until the next day, because maybe it would get a little better. (It usually did). Thankful for the small ways we found to have fun, and make memories that will last forever.

I truly feel blessed beyond belief with the gifts that my children have brought into my life. I receive that blessing with humbleness and deep gratitude. You both are my Mother's Day present just by being who you are.

My son, you are a wonderful man. I love you more than words could ever convey. Here's to you.