Luke's Gift to Me

My boy hit a real milestone birthday this week. It is hard to see your son turn 16 for many reasons, there is fear about him being out on the road and driving, but it really is that first big step to adulthood. That hurt. It really hit us too. I cried on and off numerous times. I couldn't control it. One minute smiling, one minute waaaaaaaaa. I watched him get in that truck and drive away and I must tell you, I was not prepared for all the emotions. Now I didn't cry all day, we really had a great day, Randy wrapped Luke's truck in wrapping paper and filled it with balloons the night before, we went to Sullivan to be with Mom and Dad and Hazel, we had Mexican food at Little Mexico and finished it up with Texas Sheet Cake and Ice Cream.

But I still felt that feeling of sadness all day. He seemed so grown up, so mature and it was hard. How did this happen? How did he grow up so fast? I felt like my role as Mom had come to an end.

And then, something happened. We found our toilet was not working right. It kept draining down and filling up with water and Randy formed a blister on his hand battling it with the plunger. I was even more bummed. We had a problem with the sink in the kitchen and now the toilet. I felt even more blue. I anticipated that we now had a major plumbing issue. So the next day, Randy worked on it again with "the snake"....and pulled out, yes, an apple core.

Yep, that is right. An apple core.

Randy did not do this.
I did not do this...the 2 adults in the house did not do this.
The dog did not do this.
That left one person. And that person was "The Boy."

Praise the Lord, there still are only two adults in this house! A "man" does not do this. A kid does this. My baby was back. My big dumb kid was back. He was not grown up, not yet. He was still goofy Luke and I was happy again. He was sorry and he had this big sheepish, dumb grin on his face about it. Just the way he told the story had me laughing hysterically. I hugged him and told him that the apple was a gift to me and it made me feel good again. I think, deep down, it made Randy feel better too.

So happy birthday, my Luke and thanks for the apple....