Today is Justin's birthday. 26 yrs ago I pushed a bowling ball size baby from my nether regions and life has never been the same. (Neither have the parts down below). Not only did I give birth to this child, I was sent home from the hospital with him. No instruction book and no clue what to do with a baby! Oh sure I had baby sit before, but that was usually older kids and only for a few hours. Sam hadn't even had that exposure. And yet there we were. Two kids ourselves who where so totally in love that we could overcome anything and yet we could not make this baby sleep at night. Damn! What is that book that begins, "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." Thank God for our family!!!!!
I have read that being a Grandmother is the reward for raising your own children. Bull shit!!! God made Grandmothers so that stupid moms would have someone to keep them from killing said babies. Mother Nature and Motherly instinct has a place but not when dealing with a screaming newborn that has been fed, changed, rocked, burped, walked, driven around the block, given a Binky, bounced, fed and burped again, and STILL KEEPS CRYING!!!!!!! That is where Grandmothers or Grandfathers earn their wings of gold. They swoop in usually bringing food, you get to shower, take a nap, and through some magic (they do not share) get the spud to go the f@&$ to sleep. This of coarse makes you feel even more inept as a parent. Knowing behind your back they are high fiving each other.
Justin was a good baby once he got the whole day/night thing straightened out. Funny that he has always been a night owl. Now as an adult he works 24hrs then off 48. Most of that 24 hrs he is running ambulance calls and is up all night. It just doesn't seem like he should be 26. When I think of all the milestones, ups and downs, and the times I wanted to kill him then it seems like he should be 126. But just in general, he should still be the brainiac little kid that knew EVERYTHING about dinosaurs and lectured us on why we should eat cheese when we drank beer. I would say that he was wise beyond his years. Sam and I can not take credit for that. Each baby is born with its own personality, to hell with the DNA donors.
With Justin, I became a mother and Sam became a father. I learned that when bad things happen, the world keeps spinning. Sometimes a little benedryl is a good thing. When your children embarrass you in public, just go with it because every parent has been there. I learned to make sure the pet iguana is dead BEFORE you break the news. Don't sweat the small stuff and pick your battles are one in the same and rules to live by. And for Gods sake, let the kids get dirty. Be moral and ethical so when a decision is made by teenagers, the seeds of good are in that thick head somewhere.
With Justin I have two sayings that pretty much sum up life:
1. This is for now, not forever.
2. As long as no one is pregnant or in jail, everything else can be fixed!
Love you Justin,
Justin LOVES sushi so that is what we have for his birthday every year. Sam, bless his heart, could hardly eat or keep down his. Justin wanted Krispy Creme instead of a cake which worked out well because Krystals is right beside the donut store. Sam doesn't do sushi but he sure as hell does Krystals!!!!
The pics are from Ru San's.
