It Was Twenty Years Ago Today

My son is twenty years old today. Let that sink in a moment.
He was a gorgeous kid with bright blue eyes and fine blonde hair. He struggled as a baby, hospitalized nine times before he was two years old. He had dibilitating asthma that at times required round-the-clock breathing treatments. There was at least one moment when I feared for his life.
He persevered and now we can legitimately say he's a man. My father pronounced him so on this occasion, saying "I wondered for a lot of years if I would live to see him as a man. I guess I made it."
Twenty. It seems so much different from nineteen. We watch him mostly from afar these days. He will come around when he needs groceries, but he lives his own life. Work and school, plus his long-time love interest, eat up his time.
To celebrate this day, he joined his immediate family for dinner at his favorite restaurant. His mother and I were there, along with his sister, my father and my wife's mother. He read his cards, opened his gifts, had his dinner and thanked everyone. Then, he politely moved on. He was having people over to his place, a little low-key birthday party. That's the way he likes it, I guess.
So, Happy Birthday, My Man. Come see us if you need something.

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