old country house blog

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEVENTEEN

 

TATE COLTRANE DEVITO
On My Children’s Birthdays…
MY FRIEND Roberta used to make a point of giving
ME a gift,
as well as my children.
The gifts were nothing elaborate…Roberta lives simply and close to the heart…
but she would bestow upon one of my Birthday Boys or Girl…a candle
 or a really cool rock…
or maybe an animal carved out of wood…
….and then a little sachet or something sweet to eat for me.
There really was no card, or explanation needed, I knew what she meant…
The Days…the Birthdays are special to both Mother and Child.
Thus this day
August 8
EIGHT EIGHT
was my FIRST BIRTHDAY in a way…
for it is the day…17 years ago, at 1:57 am
…that I became a Mother.
and all bets were off.
I worked as an Obstetrics Nurse for 13 years
and yet I NEVER stopped being
GOBSMACKED at the phenomenon…
TWO walk in…
THREE (these days often more) walk out.
Baby in body.
Baby in blanket.
It never EVER ceased to AMAZE me.
It happens every day…so you would think I would get used to the notion…
But I never have.
When I see a pregnant woman having her
FIRST child…and I know what they don’t know…
…...that being pregnant …and
being  A Mother
are about as similar as a Wedding and a Marriage are…
and when I look at them,
I feel a bit like the person who holds the Oscar results in her hand
 and that I am looking at the winner.
Only I cannot tell them…and even if I did, they would not believe me…
No words.
I have run out of words.
Fast forwarding to
 Today, and TATE’s 17th Birthday
…I chuckle at how when my kids were tiny and squeaky
…..TEENS looked too BIG and a tad scary to me…
Now I know, in my case anyway…that having a 17 year old Boy is a bit
like having a Great Dane Puppy.
Who has grown a 4 whole bodys’ bigger in two years and yet
….inside…still chases his tail.
My son Tate
is everything I could have ever dreamed of in a son…
KIND, Smart, Funny, Sensitive and Motivated…
AND because LIFE
IS ALL ABOUT BALANCE
and keepin’ it Real…
and parenting is a daily Lesson in letting go…
and fending off my biggest FEARS…
the DREAM where I cannot seem to catch the CHILD
 RUNNING into the street of oncoming traffic
and I am standing there frozen…
AND I CAN’T SCREAM
OR FLY.
Parenting is a lesson in FAITH.
The LOVE that came with the package that arrived on EIGHT EIGHT
was nothing I had ever witnessed, but gratefully so
….have continued to experience…
in each and every aspect of my life
and if it is possible…
THAT LOVE has given way to
MORE LOVE
and SO ON AND SO ON AND SO ON.
SO Today we celebrate
My Eldest Son’s
Seventeenth
and as I sit and try to take IN even one ounce of it all in…
which is about as easy as catching a cloud…
I DO THE ONLY THING I CAN DO
I THANK GOD.
to those of you who are loyal long term followers of my blog, this post and these sentiments and these words…. may seem familiar…and it is indeed, I am beginning to run out of words in my attempt to describe the swiftness of these passing years and despite all attempts to freeze time…Here we are again, and Tate is another year older…
…and closer to the door…I loved what I said last year and today I am going to spend the time WITH my boy instead of writing about the boy…I do so love the boy. 

8 thoughts on “HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEVENTEEN

  1. Wonderful! Happy Birthday Tate! I just experienced my baby boy turning 17…He is the last – beginning his senior year..and my heart is happy and broken all at the same time. Prayers and best wishes to you as a fellow mama! Thank you for sharing your family and your heart.

  2. My third son turned one today, on EIGHT EIGHT, and you captured how I feel about him and my others so perfectly. I cried myself to sleep last night thinking that my sweet baby had grown so fast. I can only imagine how I will feel in 16 more years. I too, thank God daily, for the chance to be a mom, their mom! Happy birthday to you both 😉

    1. I know, it goes too fast…no matter what I do I cant stop it…many lessons learned along the way, and one biggie is to stop watching the clock…just BE HERE NOW…Happy Birthday to your 8/8 baby!!!! Yummy yummy One! Those legs, those smiles, eat it up with a spoon!

  3. Just lovely and so well said! Happy Birthday to your boy. The girl who made me a mother turns 15 in two short weeks, the same week she starts high school! Hard to believe!
    xo~Jill

  4. You said it so beautifully and he is a very handsome young man. I love the quote that parenting is a daily lesson in learning to let go…something my 25 year old daughter (and only child) will tell you I have yet to fully learn. We remember every single event of their lives even 25 years later and the love is just as strong…why is that? Oh well…happy birthday to your son and thanks for allowing us a moment to remember the magical day we became mothers for the first time.

    p.s. I can attest that grandbabies come a close second even though mine are step-grandbabies, they are delicious just the same!

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