Letter to My Son

My Middle Son turns 21 today ... I woke up and my fingers had a mind of their own. This is what they wrote:

21 years ago today, I was waking up to the knowledge that you would be coming into my life that day. Wow ... that seems like a lifetime ago (and to you, it is!).

Little did I know where our road together and apart would lead ...

When you were born, we felt more like a real 'family'. Having one child is nice ... having two ... feels like a family. It was my protective mother genes in me (which were nice and close to the surface after having you ... I think some people say it is a hormonal thing ... I prefer to call it protective mother syndrome), that picked us up and away from a chaotic and unhealthy lifestyle and moved us out here for a new beginning.

A new baby, a new beginning, a whole new world for us. I've never regretted that decision for a moment. It was the best move for us.

The next best move that I made for our family is when I decided to work from home after My Youngest was born. Maybe you and I would have been close anyway, but I credit the fact that I wasn't overwhelmed with work stresses at the end of my day, to the realization that your moods and behaviours were directly related to the stresses you were facing at school. Not me. I didn't take it personally, so I was better equipped to understand where you were coming from (even though I still didn't handle every situation perfectly, it was far better than how I dealt with things the first time around) ...

The teenage years weren't without their trying times, but in the end I could see that you were a strong minded individual who wasn't going to bow to peer pressure just to be liked and popular. You had a strong sense of who you were and what you believed in. And no one was going to sway your thinking.

And that brings us to today. A song that you played for me yesterday makes me feel that you have not changed a your way of thinking in some ways, since you were that teen who wasn't concerned about going with the flow of things just to be with the in crowd. You are who you are. And you are strong in what you believe in.

You have enveloped your family into that strong sense of belief and I feel that you would stand up for not only yourself, but anyone you care about.

You are pretty amazing. I am so proud to call you my son ...

Love,
Mom