The Birthday Boy

Taking time out of my busy "art career" to celebrate the birth of Son #2 today.  Twenty three years ago today I had an appointment with the doctor who would deliver our second son by Ceasarian section.  Son #1 was an emergency section so they didn't want to chance it with the next one. 
He weighed in at 8lbs plus, I can't remember how much extra, and was a wiry, busy, moving baby.  Every time the nurses brought him to my room he'd be all out of the swaddling they had wrapped him in, squirming and moving those arms and legs.  And hungry!  He was downing those little bottles of formula and looking for more.

As he was as an infant, so he was as a baby, then a toddler, and a child.  Always on the go.  Smart as a whip.  He was always doing something, and quick.  We couldn't take our eyes off him for a minute because if you did he'd be gone and into something in a flash.  Poor quiet, calm Son#1 used to say to me "Mom, he's embarrassing me!"  This kid was very distractable and took long to talk.  He had his own language and none of us could understand him, maybe only me.  He was a visual learner and look out if he saw you do something, he could copy it in a second.  We had him out of the crib and in a bed by the time he was a year and a half because he kept jumping out!  He'd run around the house at 5A.M. and Son #1 would run in our bedroom to wake us and catch him!

Son #2 needed to go to nursery school so I could get a break.  Every day I would pray the school wouldn't call me to come and get him!  But he loved it, even though he was wild, kind of.  We found out he had language learning problems and by kindergarten he was labeled learning disabled due to auditory processing disorder.  His brain took long to process language and for him it was frustrating trying to be understood, and to understand anyone else.  He would come home from school on the bus, and by the time the bus moved to the next stop he'd be crying his eyes out mumbling about how mean the teacher was, and she definitely was a witch.  Well he didn't last long there and was moved to a special education class with really disabled children.  That was a difficult experience for us and sad for me.  But the principle assured us that kids did really well once the pressure was off.  And they were right.

He excelled in high school, got accepted to college and graduated this May with a Bachelor's degree in Health and Public Management.  His graduation was on a Friday and he began working in his field on Monday. 

We're so proud of him and how well he's done so far in his young life.  He's fun and outgoing, tall and handsome, with quick wit and a huge smile.  In the Greek culture we have a saying, "May you reach 100."

Happy birthday Son #2!