Birthday

My middle child turns twelve today. It's his golden birthday. The other two have already celebrated their birthdays this year, so he's the last. Part of me says thank goodness; all the money going out on gifts and dinners makes my stomach hurt. Another part of me, though, realizes another year has gone by and the kids are inching ever closer to being adults ready to get out on their own. I'm going to miss them so much when they're gone. The sadness that comes over me when I think about them leaving pulls me down, sometimes to the point of tears. If I feel like this now, what will it be like when they actually do leave?

I do love birthdays, though. They're very special days and should be celebrated with joy. To do this, the birthday person must awaken to the birthday song being sung loud and out of tune. Then, once the person is good and awake, a morning present must be given to offer a hint of what's to come later in the day. This morning, my son received a present his younger brother bought for him, using the Christmas money he had received from his grandparents--a computer game. The birthday boy was quite impressed with his brother.

For a week now, my husband and I have been teasing birthday boy that all he is going to get from us is clothes. He needs school clothes terribly, so we told him he's only going to get what he needs from us. As a joke, I went out and bought him two pairs of pants and two shirts. They're both wrapped and ready for him to tear into. The real present, though, is a case for his airsoft rifle. He and his friends are into airsoft guns, so he used his Christmas money to buy an insanely huge rifle with scope. He didn't think about how to transport it in a safe way, so we found a case with foam padding that will protect the gun and scope. I also bought him a face mask to protect his eyes and face. Now I can feel a bit more okay about him being shot at.

So, happy birthday middle child. I hope you always remember with fondness this birthday.