16

16 reasons YOU, Thomas, make me smile:

1. You are my first child
2. You taught teach me patience
3. Your good grades
4. Your willingness to let your brother/cousins/neighbors beat you like a pinata
5. Your love for sports (no I don’t want to know about the last cliff you snowboarded off of..)
6. Your curly hair
7. You are my parenting guinea pig
8. You are dependable
9. You laugh at the same things I do :)
10. You want to succeed in life
11. You choose to be a good kid
12. You accept regifted presents with gusto..
13. You always underestimate me (which means I always come out looking good)
14. You never divulge secrets (like who you “like”)
15. Your friends adore you
16. I LOVE YOU

It’s never easy to see a child grow up.   I don’t know which is worse: turning 40 or having your first born turn 16. It’s a toss up.  And why do I feel like 16 was just 2 or 3 years ago for me?  I remember sitting by the pool with my friends, going to dances (who doesn’t hear VH’s “Jump” or Wham’s “Last Christmas” and not smile?), being chased by Guardia Civil for toilet papering, and just being a teen…Growing up gets harder each year that goes by  and looking back get sadder because only as you get older do you truly begin to cherish what it means to be a teen.