Happy Birthday, Dade!

The little boy who first made me a mom is quickly becoming the young man who makes me feel old. It's hard to believe that Dade is almost a teenager, and that I was only a teenager when he was born. I am pleased to say that being a teen mom was, for me at least, not a horrible statistic or the hot mess you see on those teen mom tv shows thanks mostly to my fantastic baby daddy and my own sense of responsibility (which sadly seems to be lacking on the tv shows).

But enough about me...let's talk a minute about the birthday boy. First off, he's funny. He definitely has my sense of humor, and many times we are the only ones laughing at each other's jokes. We don't care. We get each other.

Second, he's smart. He remembers everything, including stuff that I have long since forgotten. I hope someday he can forget all the times we are too hard on him. I hope he understands that even though his ADHD makes him often so difficult to deal with that it also makes him stronger and more resilient.

Happy Birthday, Dade! I hope you enjoy the rest of the year and all it's events: taking hunter safety class, hunting with Grandpa, building snow forts, playing in band concerts, opening Christmas presents, and so much more.

The day of his actual birthday was great. Grandpa and Grandma Vesely came down to help celebrate. After stuffing himself at Valentino's buffet, Dade got to have ice cream cake (of which he asked for a "really small piece, Mom").



He also opened presents, of course, and got a gutting knife for deer hunting from Grandpa Dean. I am already having nightmares of him jabbing himself in the leg, thank you very much. I only wish Grandpa Dean lived a bit closer. He and Dade would be best friends. They could hunt, fish, read, and golf together, and when Dade got annoying Grandpa could just doze off.


Perhaps his favorite gift is the video game I picked out for him. We pretty much didn't see him for two days because he was so enthralled. Well, it was his birthday, so I let him play nonstop.



Now he's sadly back to video game rationing, homework, and reading (We also got him The Swiss Family Robinson, and he is quickly reading all of Colby's old Hardy Boys books). Such is the life of a pre teen.