Birthday Time

Belated Happy Birthday to Grandboy #1 who turned 14 Tuesday. How that happened is beyond me. I just posted that he'd entered Teenage Boy-hood not long ago. Somehow twelve months passed without my notice.

Anyway, we had a very nice family event -- lunch at the Icheban restaurant (I had the fried rice and vegetable plate) and then back home for birthday cupcakes, chips, Cheerwine (longtime, local non-alcoholic soft drink for those of you who don't follow the blog regularly), pink lemonade, and birthday cake ice cream. And then the birthday presents.

This boy is growing up so fast. (!) His voice has dropped two octaves but of course it yodels all over the place, too. He never knows what's coming out. I try not to laugh at this rite-of-passage affliction, but it's not easy. It's so cute!

He advised me recently that he's thinking of of joining the marines. This is startling to me on several levels, not the least of which is a dream I had years ago when he was still in elementary school, one of my standing at the kitchen sink washing dishes and the back door opening -- and there he is, his grown up self, in marine digital print BDUs (the marines were the only ones who had the digital print cammo at that time -- which is how I knew he was a marine). He's grinning and he's proud and his hair is buzz cut practically down to the skull, the kind of haircut he'd never had. It was unsettling then. It's even more unsettling now, in light of the "considering enlistment" revelation. I have cousins who were marines (are marines, they would say). And navy. And army. The dh was in 6 years. Most all of the men in the family have served in the military. But I don't know what I think about this.

He's my boy...