HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVEN

I don’t know which is harder to accept that I turned 50 last month or that my firstborn is 30 years old today. November 4, 1977 is as vivid to my mind as if it were yesterday. I can remember the entire day event by event. First of all I had gone 2 weeks past my due date. Our church was having a revival and I was sick of hearing people ask, “What are you still doing here” or “You haven’t gone yet?”

I woke up on Thursday morning tired of being pregnant, tired of being cooped up in a house without a car, tired of the same huge clothes, and tired of eating whatever we had in the cupboard. It was a beautiful, autumn day, so I decided to walk to the grocery store, which was about a mile round trip. I’m sure I presented a pretty picture waddling slowly down the street but at 20 years old, I wasn’t concerned about what anyone was thinking. I bought a can of Chef Boy Ar Dee spaghetti and meatballs for lunch. It tasted so good, but would come into play later.

I took a nap hoping to pass some time until church that night. Yes, I went to church even at

9 ½ months pregnant and went back, with Steven, when he was 3 ½ days old. Steve got home from work and because we had nothing to eat, we went back to the grocery store. This time I thoroughly enjoyed “broasted chicken.” That will also come into play later.

We went to church until 9:00 p.m. when our entire family left so I could go to the hospital and finally have a baby. The entire family consisted of Steve and I, my Dad and Mom, 4 sisters, and my mother-in-law. It was half the church. The evangelist must have wondered what he had said.

At 12:57 a.m. the most beautiful baby boy ever, (until my other son and grandson were born), made his entrance into the world. Back to the spaghetti and meatballs and broasted chicken; that made an entrance back into the world also.

The best thing about raising sons is they give you daughters (in-law) to enjoy without going through the pain of everything that comes with teenage girls. Then they present you with the most wonderful grandchildren in the world. As I watch my grown-up son with his little boy, I am overwhelmed with pride at the man he has become.

Happy Birthday Steven. Thanks for all the wonderful experiences and memories over the past 30 years. I am so thankful I have been privileged to be your Mom.