"Mommy." Quite possibly the
first word a little boy will say . . .
the beginning of a lifelong conversation
with his mother. In between childhood and
adulthood, many words will pass between
a mother and a son, some in love,
some in anger, some in sadness,
and others in joy. . . It's in a mother's
eyes that a son will remain
forever young . . . and forever cherished.
~ Jill Morgan
Today is my son's 30th birthday. I have no
idea where the past 30 years have gone. (I also can't figure out how I can be old enough to have a child who is 30-years old!)
It seems like only yesterday that we brought him home from The Ohio State University Hospital. He was born five weeks late (It was not a counting mistake.), and even during delivery, we had a few problems and could have lost him. Through the good care of my doctor (Donald K Bryan), Jason safely entered this world at 4:23 PM EST on 12/15/78. He has always been a precious jewel to us (That's not something one normally says about a male!). He has always been very smart and creative and fun and funny and sensitive and intuitive and responsible. He is an artist. He loves dogs. He loves music and plays guitar. He was a great kid and is an even greater man.
He thinks he is very different from us, but he doesn't realize how similar he is. That's okay. As he ages, he'll see the similarities. I know that we always thought we were very different from our parents, but as we got older, we saw how much we are our parents.
Like every mother, I wish he were still a baby and that
I could hold him in my arms for a few more minutes. Like every mother, I wish he lived closer. Like every mother, I could never put in words the depth of the love that I feel for my child.
So, Jason, HAPPY BIRTHDAY. In our eyes, you will remain forever young and forever cherished. We love you.
(Photos: Top - Jason opened his birthday present when we were in Florida last week. Top left - The day we brought him home from the hospital. Top right - Jason at one month. Bottom left - Jason and Dad on Christmas, 1979. Bottom right - Jason and us after his induction in National Honor Society.)
Christmas gift suggestions: 
Encore, a 20-story condominium tower, sits behind the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in downtown Nashville. The building features one- and two-bedroom condos ranging in size from 584 to 1184 square feet. Like most urban condo towers, Encore offers a bunch of amenities, ranging from plasma TVs in common areas, game and media rooms, meeting rooms, grills, pools and more. Eventually, there will be retail establishments on the ground floor.
I HAD to take a photo of this gas pump in St. John, Antigua when I saw that diesel costs $11.95 per gallon there. Of course, that's 11.95 EAST CARIBBEAN dollars, which translates to about $4.62 US dollars per gallon. That's still quite high considering the cost of diesel in the Nashville area is about $2.50-2.60 per gallon. Regular gas in the southern Caribbean is still running over $4 US per gallon . . . and going up instead of down.
Sigh. We are on our way back to Nashville after a week of blue skies, bluer seas, emerald islands and warm weather.
