Not only did I have the delight of seeing my boys in the jpegs yesterday, my youngest was actually in town, and I able to see him briefly this weekend. He flew in Thursday night from Denver to be a student leader at the annual in-town retreat this past weekend for the student ministry he was part of while in school here. He is so funny. I got a call Thursday at work from him, which is rare. I could take the call, and so I did, and quickly fielded questions about baggage fees, baggage weight, and carry-ons. Now, he has flown many times before, but I guess he wanted to double-check, and honestly, it is nice to be needed for something once in awhile.
It made me realize that while he thinks he is grown-up, there is still a little bit of my boy there inside. He blew in like a whirlwind, and was out of here by Sunday evening. We basically saw him Thursday night, some on Friday, and then for about 3 hours on Sunday. Last night, Steve and I were talking about Andrew and his possibilities for summer jobs, and studying abroad next fall, and Steve said, "He amazes me with his follow through on research." Yes, we are finding that Andrew is like a dog with a bone when he latches onto an idea and gets excited. It is incredible to see how college is developing him.
He really is a passionate kid. His thoughts and emotions run deep, and while he is introverted, if you hit the right topic, he's right there with you, toe to toe, offering up intellectual insight, facts that he has memorized from who only knows where, and opinions that have been gelling in his introspective and multi-faceted mind. He is my Comic Book boy, but he is also my boy who has movie lines, music lyrics, anecdotes, and scripture memorized like nobody's business.
As an preschooler, he was the one I couldn't find because he would have decided he was tired and put himself down for a nap. In elementary school, he was the compassionate, quiet child, always seeing an unmet need of another student and meeting it. He was the student who always wore a belt with his jeans and loved his shirt tucked in, and wasn't afraid to wear cowboy boots with shorts. He's had his own style defined for quite some time, and he's confident enough to go with his gut at any given moment.
He takes a long time to reach a decision, but once it is made, you'd sooner climb Niagara Falls than change his mind. Oh, the things I have learned from this child! He makes me laugh, he makes me think, he makes me question life, he makes me cry, he makes me marvel, and yes, he has been known to make me yell.
My boys are 16 months apart, and so when they were little, Steve and I tag-teamed them. For obvious reasons, I had the younger one, and I have so many fond memories of this little boy resting his head on my shoulder, needing to be loved. That same little boy would climb on my lap, hold my hand, seek me out in a crowd, checking on me to make sure I was okay.
I know, though at 6'2" he towers over me now, he is still that same little person inside - that same confident, quirky, sensitive, compassionate, intelligent, and opinionated child. And I'm so glad to be blessed as his mother. I think he's awesome. Each and every day. Most of those days are spent 804 miles away from me now. And when I am lucky enough that he is here with me, I get to be reminded of how incredible he is, and always has been. And that is awesome, too.
Awesome ~ Andrew Turns 18 ~ August 2013
Paper: Simple Stories
Title Font: Collegiate
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Another wonderful layout Penny. Those papers are perfect for the older guys.
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