Love forever, Mom

A friend of mine pointed out that is has been five weeks since I last wrote. Bad blogger! It wouldn't be right to let May slip away without so much as one post, so tonight, I take you back one month...to Daniel's 18th birthday.

What 18-year-old wants to spend his entire birthday with his mom? Not any I know, yet there we were--Daniel, his girlfriend, Savanna, Phillip, and myself--having breakfast at Denny's (his choice); walking around downtown; watching Sixth Sense with his dad, his grandparents, and some of his friends; smiling over cake and ice cream; hanging out at the pizza parlor in the evening.

And somewhere in there, this magical moment happened:

When Daniel was a little boy, I would read him the children's book Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, just about every day. What a joy it was then, that on his birthday, we should stumble upon a tiny, used bookstore in the downtown area, which happened to have a copy of this delightful little tome. Right there, in the dimly-lit, stuffy, back room of this quiet book shop, he read to me the words that once I could only read to him: "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my Mommy you'll be."

For a mom who was feeling no small amount of consternation over my baby boy growing up, I think Daniel did a gracious job of easing me into becoming the mother of an adult. In a couple of days he graduates from high school; in the fall he starts classes at Bakersfield College. Even though one day he'll leave the nest, for the time being, he still resides under my roof. He's even agreed to co-produce a blog with his dear, old mom (coming soon!). Thank you, Daniel. I know whatever the future brings, "as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be."

Origins.

Maybe it's all the studying in Anthropology about origins; perhaps it's just all the studying in general--and the not having the time for sit-and-chats; or it could be the nagging thoughts that wander about my brain late at night...whatever it is, I've lately found myself thinking more and more about my parents. I'm truly blessed to know these warm, wonderful humans at all, let alone to have been born to and raised by them. Virtually everyone I know who has met my parents has had positive things to say about this dynamic, generous, and talented couple. And why should I not do the same?

I took the above photos for my parents 46th anniversary. This year will be 48! Much love M & D!!