Almost a man

I was talking with Malachi last night about plans for his 18th Birthday, Graduation, and sending him off to his summer job at a Christian camp. We've had these events on our minds for some time, but now they're really coming up, so it feels very real all of a sudden.

I'm not ashamed to admit that when I went to bed, I had a little cry. I thought to myself, "it really does go by so fast. SO FAST.

The thing is, it doesn't seem like that long ago that I graduated from high school. It doesn't feel like that long ago that I met Alif, fell in love with him, married him. So how in the world can my child be a man, ready to actually and literally go out into the world on his own?

I approached the teenage years with trepidation. I just kept wondering when the other shoe would drop - when this funny, kind, respectful boy would turn into a surly, rebellious young man. Now, people are people, and he could choose to live any which way at any point in his life, but he's about to turn 18 and I'm not being a boastful mom when I say that he is genuinely pleasant. It's sure nothing I've done. He and Graham have been our guinea pigs, and boy have we made some real parenting mistakes along the way. But God hasn't. God tends to those cracked places, molding and shaping his children.

I'm so thankful for this boy, and for the few days I have left to call him so. I'm filled with wonder at the man he's about to become. He's one of the good ones, and I will watch, prayerfully, gratefully, and with great excitement to see what God has planned for him.

I love you with a never ending love, son.