23 Years in the Making! The (so far) story of Reed!

 

My baby boy is 23!  Seemingly overnight - and literally overnight - he has turned another year on his wheels.  It was 23 years in the making and a hard fought battle to get you here safely.  Medications and bed rest and some prayers from the Universe.  A great Doc, fantastic nurses, and strong bedside help from friends in attendance......and more than 100 stitches.  It has all been worth it!

Hale and Hearty and strong as an Ox since day 1 - no crying from this baby either when you were born!

You used to climb in the fridge and get whole sticks of butter to eat for a lil' snack!  "Lil Snack Momma!"  I worried hard for a while until your doctor told me "let him eat the butter.... something in it he needs!"  Your brother always wanted the whip cream, but you wanted the butter!  You were only too happy to share it with your dog too!  Good times - except Zelda barfed from too much butter a few times!

We worried too that this would need to be a permanent fixture on your head!  One of your favorite things besides butter eatin, was to put on a helmet (or a bucket) and run into anything in your path!  People, dogs, walls, doors, the list goes on..... it was mostly funny and not harmful except when you ran too hard at stuff!

We have a favorite memory of a small disagreement we had when you were small - your dad and I that is - we had to have baby gates up all over the place since you would bash doors open and even bash the baby gates down.  So your dad nailed the one at the top of the long stairs to the basement to the wall and the railing with 16 penny construction nails!  I said it wouldnt hold - we need to add some zip ties or 100 mile an hour tape or something else to shore it up more!  Dad said it was fine.  One night we were eating hot brownie with ice cream and you had already finished yours and you were at the top of the stairs just reefing on the baby gate! ( I think the cat was at the bottom of the stairs and you wanted down there bad).  I said - that gates gonna give!  Dad says - Its fine!  Bang! Bang! Bang! You reefed on the gate and suddenly it gave way and down the 15 stair set you tumbled onto the concrete below!  Your dad leapt up and threw his brownie bowl and leapt over the rail to get to you in a hurry!  He picked you up and when you saw it was him you gave him a hearty (baby) roar and laughed!  The dog (Zelda) ate dads brownie and ice cream!  We now have Ike to crash through baby gates and you have your own crazy dogs!

You with Rye and Zelda - the brownie eater!

You always loved to have a hat on.  It seems like from the time you were born you liked a hat!  You would trade a binky for a hat most of the time and had no trouble giving up the binky - you didnt have time for that!  Dont take your hat!

Still to this day - Dont touch your hat!

You are now an only child.  That hit me hard just the other day.  I hadn't thought about it much before now, but it hit me where I live the other day.  Rye had been an only for 7 years until you came along, and now you have been an only for 7 years almost too.  We always felt bad for you because everyone else in the house knew how to do most of the things - ties shoes, wipe their own bum, buckle the seatbelt..... ya know - the stuff!  You sometimes got the brunt of frustration when you werent fast enough getting "IN The VAN"!  It was hard for you to be the little when you never thought you were little at all - "Im Gwone!" you would yell when it was you who was frustrated!  

You wore this exact shirt (given to you by the Ranums) for three years in a row for school pictures!  I still have this shirt - worn but not so much that your kids wont be able to wear it too - just not for three school pictures in a row!  It was your favorite for years!

You wore this shirt also for school pictures one year - the top part (that you can see here) says "School is important...  What you dont see in this picture is that part that says "But Hockey is importanter!"  We laugh whenever we see these pictures with this shirt - it seems never to show the hockey part of the saying, and we all know how you REALLY felt about school most of the time!

Hockey has always been foremost at our house and it was so much fun (and work) watching you grow and thrive and succeed in your sport - even when you had to overcome so much - from flying elbow smash to some of the other really hard things, you overcame and thrived!

And made some very good friends along the way!

Now that you are a grown up - really Gwone, I am always amazed and happy for the adventures that you have all the time and your deeply loving heart that hears what your people need even if you should already be asleep!  

You have always had the kindest heart - fierce on the ice, but just a teddy bear for everyday people, and animals.  

Happy to be going, even when you are tired (just not Hangry please!), you go with your people fishing, hnting,  and chasing the Aurora for miles, and running those dogs so they will sleep at night!

Aurora Photo Courtesy of Keyona Mattson

Making some great friends doing these things too!

Only baby gate you couldnt tear down! HaHa!

You have always been taller than me it seems and now your dad is grumpy that you are as tall (at least) as he is!  Now he knows what it feels like to feel short all the time and you now what it means to be "Tall guy who gets stuff down!"

We are so proud of the man you have become, taking responsibility, taking time to find yourself and make hard choices to protect your health and your relationships, and to make time for your momma and your grumpy old man!  We love our birthday boy even though it makes us feel old that you are Gwown! We are happy that you have made it to 23 - now to Infinity and Beyond with all of us!

Blessed be my sweet boy - forever and always I love you more than the snow is white and with all of MY perfectly fine whole entire heart!