Life On Beech Grove Road

This time 14 years ago I met him for the first time, and I must say it was love at first sight. I can remember the first time I looked into those beautiful brown eyes and felt a love I never knew possible. His arrival was a little unexpected it happen to fall on Thanksgiving Day, plans were rearranged and family met at the hospital instead of the dinner table,while the turkey was shipped to the neighbors to finish cooking (later known as the famous traveling turkey) My Grandpa aka "POP" called him "young gobbler" because he was born on Thanksgiving Day....I had no idea that day how my life would change, how many times a day I would laugh because he was here, all the funny things he would say and how many more times I would shed tears, like the first time he had stitches, the first day of school, and the day that my Dad baptized him at church (that was a great day, I could cry now thinking about it)

This handsome young man I'm talking about is my oldest (14 today) Chad Allen......I must tell you that the teenage years are all new to me, (I have picked up a few pointers from my sister and her 2 older boys:) I am now learning a new language... teenage boys rarely talk they grunt kind of a grey answer not really a yes or a no, most of the time they stick to grunts which I think means maybe or yes Mom I hear you (kinda). They pick at their younger siblings with no avail anything that would make them scream Chad Allen is there....BUT on the flip side (oddly strange how this works) if anybody else picks at his little sister or brother he is there to defend them to the death:)When I look at Chad I see so many things that make me proud like how compassionate he is with a classmate that has Downsyndrom, how he loves to play with little kids and has Patience with them, and he has friends from all walks of life he's never been a "click kid" and then there are the times that I can be so mad at him and when I go to give him the "Mom speech" he gives me that look that makes me unable to hold that straight face that us Moms are suppose to have when we're mad...so I have to leave the room crack up and return and try to give him the speech.

In the last 14 years I can't say I have done everything perfect in raising my son, there are some things that I can never change about the past, there have been lots of hard times but this wonderful son of mine has given me grace, we've done a lot of growing up together and as time speeds by I see what a wonderful person he is becoming, As parents I think sometimes we forget how quick time goes by so today I choose to slow down and take it all in! Happy Birthday Chad Allen I Love You!!