Happy Birthday E! Now age 9!

Is it really possible that my firstborn child is turning 9? 9! It seems like yesterday I was eagerly awaiting his birth having just "retired" from a teaching position I held for five years. I've long passed the threshold of having been home longer than I taught school, but still each birthday brings with it the recollection of all the time that has gone by.

I had gone into the hospital on September 9, 1998 for an induction- sure that we would have a baby by the end of the day. Mark McGwire had broken the homerun record for the season and the newspapers reflected his accomplishment which of course were purchased for the occasion. We were all set. Unfortunately, baby was not and E9 was not born until the wee hours of the morning on September 10, 1998.

And what joy he has brought to us all this time! He was fairly quickly joined by a sister and then a brother and eventually another brother, but through it all he has remained our first baby boy. The oldest always holds the record for firsts I suppose. When I first became a mother and was so busy with the tasks of taking care of babies and toddlers, I would run into moms of older kids. They were always busy with this or that usually involving their school aged children and I could never understand why playgroups weren't important anymore- even though they still had a toddler. Most profoundly, I was sure I'd never be that mom.

Well guess what...I am that mom! I understand her more now. My toddler doesn't always get the playgroup time. Why? Well because as my other children have gotten older, life cannot revolve around my preschoolers. I do try to achieve a balance, but it is difficult as this soccer mom knows.

So, happy birthday E9!

You are a wonderful little guy and we are thankful you are the one to lead us into new territory as parents. Someday, your brothers and sister will thank you too! New territory? The territory that realizes you are not little like your siblings are anymore. The territory that leads us to give you more choices and responsibilities like managing your own media time. The territory that convinces us that your own mp3 player is the prudent thing to do. The territory that means you can read in your bed long after your brothers and sisters are asleep. The new territory that allows us to begin relinquishing control- little by little as you grow.

I'm so thankful for the blessing of you and all that you mean to our family! And as your dad would say (to really get my goat and sometimes it does!), you are half way to leaving home, but I wouldn't have it any other way. What a tragedy it would be if you did not continue to grow. May God continue to bless you as you grow into the man He wants you to be!

Love, Mom