365 Project Day 81: Eighteen

Canon 5D Mark ll, 50 mm 1.2L , 1.8 aperture, 1/80 shutter, 640 ISO

My youngest turned 18 today. That rocks this mama’s world. It all seems like like a blur, really. He’s come a long way since the little one year old with cake smeared all over his face and the bow on his head, awaiting presents to open.

One thing hasn’t changed, and that’s how I love this boy of mine. I was there when he breathed his first breath, red faced and frustrated. My son.

I was there when he threw his bottle of apple juice out of his crib, crying for me to come retrieve it for him. And later, I read him story after story, neither of us ever getting tired of it. I loved how he would snuggle into me at the end of the day and wait for the next book to be read.

Watching him ride his bike for the first time was like watching a bird find his wings. He was meant to ride and drive things.:) Once mastered, his bike was never far away, until he got his first dirt bike.

As he grew, I had to let his daddy take him on adventures more and more, even though my heart protested. He needed his dad too. I had to whisper prayers and clutch my hands together to keep from chasing after him. I had to learn to entrust him to God and his daddy.

He is a man of the outdoors, this boy-man of mine. Digging holes, making potato cannons, flying free on his motorcycle, how he loves the wind and the sun. And, He loves God. For this, I am the most grateful.

My heart squeezes inside my chest. I have to let him go soon. I know it to be true.  The chubby cheeks are gone and reveal a more chiseled profile now. He is handsome and strong. (Hard to be eloquent with my heart squeezing so tight.)

He is eighteen.