Life Down On The Farm

I remember hearing the doctor say "it's a boy!"

I remember hearing a baby crying down the hall at the hospital and knowing he was mine.

I remember the car wouldn't start so Dan had to borrow a friend's to take us home from the hospital.

I remember buckling the car seat between us in the front seat so we could look at him.

I remember sitting the baby seat at the bottom of the steps while I ran upstairs, that way I could see him while I was up there (for less than a minute).

I remember rocking the bassinet back and forth in the hopes he would fall back asleep at 2 a.m.

I remember rubbing Baby Orajel on sore, teething gums.

I remember hanging row after row of freshly washed cloth diapers on the clothesline.

I remember standing him up against the couch and trying to get him to walk to me.

I remember hearing how he took his first steps for the babysitter while I was gone to Grandma's funeral.

I remember the first time I heard him say "mama"

I remember trying so hard to get him to walk and talk and then trying so hard to get him to sit down and be quiet.

I remember the red Radio Flyer wagon we gave him for his first birthday.

I remember him holding his new baby sister for the first time...and then again when he held his other new baby sister.

I remember taking him to preschool the first day (he was ready...I wasn't).

I remember his kindergarten teacher telling me he had a problem with sitting down and listening.

I remember hearing that same phrase all through his school years.

I remember he was one of the best readers in first grade so got a big reading part in "The Little Engine That Could".

I remember him asking for the moon for Christmas, sure his daddy could get it for him because daddy could do anything.

I remember days when I thought there wasn't enough patience in the world to deal with him.

I remember days when I thought I would burst with pride for him.

I remember buying paint for the barn and someone commenting on what a big job we had but Dan said we had a teenager at home to do it...first time he was ever referred to as a teenager.

I remember sitting by his bed saying prayers when he had his ankle and knee surgeries.

I remember him getting his school permit and driving to school alone for the first time.

I remember the speeding ticket he got a few days later.

I remember him graduating from high school.

I remember the long, lonely drive home after we helped him move to college.

I remember telling him "I love you" as he walked out the door to go back to college, and him saying "I love you too".

I remember how much a simple phone call means, even when it is late at night and he just wants to talk about nothing.

I remember that at 9:02 a.m. on November 9, 1988 he made me a mom and changed my life forever. He makes me worry, he makes me laugh, he makes me yell, he makes me question why I ever had kids, he makes me thank God I did have kids, he makes me wonder how he grew up so fast. He has gone from a sweet little boy who loved tractors and wanted to be president when he grew up to a handsome, intelligent man who still wants to be in politics. His dreams are big and I truly hope he can achieve every one of them. He has the determination and soul to do whatever he sets his mind to, and the stubbornness to never give up on what he believes in. The past 20 years have been one adventure after another and I wouldn't have missed it for the world...I love my "Big Guy".