August 22, 2013: Twenty-nine. How can it be that 29 years have come and gone since I held this squishy, pink, squalling bundle and thought … I have NO idea what I’m doing. Nearly three decades later, I still don’t. Skinned knees and first girlfriends … new school clothes and the principal’s office. The goth period. The silhouette of a boy flying through the air, doing the perfect cannonball, back lit by a breathtaking sunset. First steps. Sitting in a hospital waiting room … breathless. He has to be okay. First birthday … diving in, fists of cake. Celebrating many more birthdays by jumping out of airplanes, tumbling down class five rapids, parasailing high above Seattle, and tomorrow … paragliding! Being this boy’s mom has not been for the faint of heart, and I would not have wanted to miss a minute. Happy birthday, my beautiful boy. I love you bigger than the universe.
