27 Years

There are certain events concerning motherhood that a mom never forgets, and I suppose there are some events concerning motherhood that a mom wishes she could forget. Each year when August 3rd rolls around, my first thought when I wake on that morning is of my firstborn son Matt. And this morning I made a special phone call to my son Matt ... a call to wish him happy birthday and to tell him I love him. You see, 27 years ago today, my Mattie entered my world, and my life has never been the same since.

It strikes me as funny that Matt seems to always be in a hurry now to get things accomplished, because he certainly took his time in making his initial entrance into the world. He was my longest and most difficult labor, and the only one of my three deliveries that required me to have an epidural. But once he was here ... once he was placed into my arms for the first time ... I never knew I could love anyone as much as I loved that sweet, scrunched-up-looking little boy, and all the difficulties of pregnancy and the pain of labor and delivery faded quickly in the presence of such overwhelming and unconditional love. I hope I've always let each one of my children know how very much I love them, and I hope they will always carry my love with them no matter where life takes them or what may come their way.

But today ... today, I'm thinking about Matt ... about him pushing his plastic lawn mower behind his dad in the backyard; about patting his behind to get him to go to sleep in his crib; about the way he would squish his toes in the dirt of my dad's garden; about his high school and graduate school graduations; about his wedding day; about the stitches in the back of his head when he fell off the slide; about late-night talks as he sat on the side of my bed when he came home from work; about his early Southern twang that now lives on only on old home movies; about him fainting at the sight of needles; about his excitement for me to meet the woman who became his wife; about his gentle and kind heart; about his tears as he and his brother and sister sang at Mom's funeral; about his love of reading and learning and teaching; about his own little baby girl coming in January; about the way he has blessed this mother's heart ... over and over and over again.

So, happy birthday to you, Mattie and thank you for the last 27 years, buddy. I can't imagine how empty my life would have been without you in it ... I love you, young man ... I love you.