If you are going to celebrate….go big is all I have to say….big pink with fire. Soccer Dude’s birthday cake (decorated for his favorite team) came with a bit of a surprise when the candle almost lit our whole apartment on fire. Chinese candles….wow, is all I have to say.
The store had one kind so I thought we would give it a try. I should have known it was going to be an adventure when it showed music notes and safety tips on the box. (I really should learn to read Chinese characters!) After the three foot flame upon being lit….it burst open with sparklers and singing “happy Birthday.” I wish I had known what was coming so we could have gotten it on video. Little man started to cry, the girls were screaming and the birthday boy….well in good 12 year old boy fashion he yelled “COOL” and blew with all his might saving us all from certain destruction!
The girls made me swear I would not buy a Chinese candle like that for their birthday cakes! Soccer Dude never wants me to buy candles in the States ever again. Boring! (No fire hazard, but boring!)
I would say that his birthday was calmer from then on, but we had his buddies over for a movie, pizza and nerf gun fun. Not calm, but super fun. He has made some very sweet friends since our arrival in Asia (don’t tell them I called them sweet…cool would be better!) Not every day would you see a group of 11 and 12 year old boys including a 3 year old little brother…with joy. They did. Little Man sat on the couch and shot the boys as they ran past during the nerf war. They pretended to die and made him laugh multiple times. Those are boys I am thrilled to have hanging out with my son!
There is something about the birthday of my first-born. Each year as it rolls around I get overly sentimental as I ponder how life has never been the same since I became a mom. This child came into the world easier than should be allowed (at my doctor’s appointment they sent me to the hospital saying he was about to fall out on his own. I hadn’t felt a thing. He was born two and a half hours later. I didn’t even miss my favorite Thursday evening show. See. It shouldn’t be that easy!) Three months into my new life as a mom, I was sure I could write a book on parenting. He ate well. Slept well. A dream. To be sure my bubble has popped along the way – read the other blog posts on my parenting and you will agree! I am more humble now.
This year as we stand at the edge of him becoming a teen – I feel like I am entering a whole new season of parenting, just as foreign as it was the day he made me a mom. I thought I would dread the teen years. But, I actually am excited. His questions challenge me. His dreams enlighten me. His passions astound me. How could I not be excited to see how God is going to use that as He grows into a man.
The best is yet to come!
Casting A Stone 