My “baby” is now a teenager; I am the mom of a teenager!! Holy moly, when did that happen? Seems like just a year or so ago I had a tiny newborn in my arms, blinked, and next thing I knew, my tiny newborn was taller than me.
On a chilly Saturday afternoon, in a quiet, darkened room (because my nurse had a migraine), my sweet Daniel came screaming into the world. I literally do mean screaming, too. When the doctor told me to stop pushing for a moment so he could ease his shoulders out one at a time, Daniel started screaming before the rest of his body was in the doctor’s hands… and hasn’t stopped talking yet.
Daniel is the most laid-back, carefree soul you’ll ever meet. He’s got an innate “not a care in the world” quality about him that you can’t help but wish you had a little of. That’s not to say that he doesn’t care about life, of course, I just mean that he doesn’t worry about what’s going to happen tomorrow; Daniel takes life as it is, head-on, today.
Around 5’10 or so, Daniel stands head and shoulders above most of his friends. His best friend’s mom told me about something that happened a few days ago at school that had me giggling:
Daniel was sitting with his best friend, Will, and another kid came up and put his behind in their faces. Will told the kid to knock it off and the kid came back with a smart “whatcha gonna do about it??” sorta remark. Daniel simply stood up and towered over the kid, whose eyes got wide as he took in Daniel’s size. He said, “I’m not scared of you!” and then quickly ran away. Will and Daniel had a good laugh about it. As did I when I imagined Daniel slowly standing up like Andre the Giant and simply staring at this snotty kid without saying a word.
The irony of it is that Daniel is one of the sweetest kids you’ll ever meet. Truly a gentle soul, there isn’t a mean bone in his body. He won’t allow someone to run over him, but he’d never be a bully either.
He’s a hugger. I’m probably telling on him a bit here but he loves to come snuggle up with me on the sofa. He’s also quick to reach over and grab me (or his Daddy, brother, aunt, uncle, grandparents, etc.) for a big bear hug.
He’s smart. Oh my god is he smart! I’ll admit it- he’s smarter than me. He’s smarter than I’ll ever be. He thinks of ideas and comes up with theories that have never occurred to me on my best day. I expect that he’ll come up with something one day that changes the world.
He’s extraordinarily kind. He always tries to include everyone. He’ll even make up a reason why the smallest kid should win the prize or why the only girl in the group was the best, just to make sure no one is excluded.
He’s simply an amazing kid. I often wonder how I ended up with such a great kid and I thank God several times each and every day that He gave him to me.
Today, on his 13th birthday, I want him to know that no matter what he decides to do, no matter where he goes, no matter who he chooses to spend his life with… he’ll always have a very proud mother who loves him more than she can describe.
Happy Birthday, Doodlebug! I love you, kid.
