Dylan

My oldest baby is 14 today, where and how did he get so big?! It really does amaze me how time can move both fast and slow and constantly keep me surprised.

It all started when I was 22, I was alone and scared. I hadn’t told anyone I was pregnant and I had picked a family to give the baby up for adoption. It was May 14, around 2am and I started to feel the most painful thing ever, a contraction. It would come in waves and I was so scared. I finally went to the hospital at 12 am and called my mom and told her to come. Being the best mom in the world she came no questions asked. I remember being yelled at by the nurses for not coming in sooner because it was too late for an epidural but I could tolerate the pain so I was confused why they were pushing for something I didn’t know about or want or need. Then at 4:32am May 15 my beautiful baby boy was born. My mom was so excited she cut the umbilical chord and screamed it was a boy. She stood guard as they cleaned him up and took all of his readings. She was like a bird fluttering around to be right by the baby. After I was moved to a new room, the Planned Parenthood people came in and asked if I was ready to sign the papers to give up my baby, but the unexpected happened. I held that little boy and could not let him go, I just couldn’t, he looked just like me as a baby and cried whenever someone else held him but didn’t in my arms. I decided to keep him and it was honestly the best decision I have ever made in my life. My family rallied around me and helped buy me a crib, get supplies, and always on hand to babysit. I am forever thankful to them and even to my dad that I saw a completely different side of him. He adored Dylan and did everything for him, it was definitely a beautiful relationship to see flourish.

Now my beautiful baby is 14, he has grown so much and still so little. He keeps me company always and when I feel alone in my head he has a knack for suspecting it and comes to talk to me about everything. He keeps me updated on every gossip thing he can think of about school. I love hearing about his day and who he spoke with, who he played with, and who he was upset with for the day. Seeing the world through his eyes is always a treat. Of course, I hate to hear the bad days, but with all bad comes good and I am happy he confides in me so much and trusts me with everything. I will be sad when the day comes he doesn’t but hopefully that day never comes.

He is growing up to be such a sweetheart. I know all moms gloat about their kids, but he really is! He is so thoughtful and works so well with kids. He is training to be a counselor this summer and he is very excited to play with little kids. He has such patience I never imagined and has such a great outlook on everything. I love our inside jokes and if it were just us we could laugh and laugh all day. No one sees the world just like me like him. He knows instinctively what I am thinking about and what I want. Dan always jokes we speak our own language because I will be talking so fast I can’t say simple things like trash so I will call it the hole and only Dylan knows what I mean and it is a blessing to have someone understand me.

I really feel he saved me from my own recklessness and just when the world looked so dark this beautiful little boy came into my life and gave me a purpose. Is it weird to say your kid is your best friend? Because Dylan really is, I know we will have a beautiful relationship forever. He is going through his teenager woes, but he has a way of seeing the bigger picture, this feeling of down isn’t forever. There is more to life than Woodbury, MN. I am so happy he has such a great perspective. The world is his oyster and I love seeing the bits of me in him. He has a way of making friends with everyone and his energy is always contagious. My middle gets mad when we go to the park and everyone wants to play with Dylan and calls for him but my middle just wants his attention. The other day we went to the park (just me, him, and Scott) and I heard like 5 kids scream “bye Dylan! Hope to see you again!” when we were leaving, it was so cute!

He doesn’t ask for much which I think it has to be being the oldest. He is the best helper and I hope he enjoys his day today. I swear he is just like me in the sense we have odd hobbies and love random things. He is into finger boarding which is playing with little skateboards so I ordered one from Germany so he could have a professional one and for his big present he only wanted a longboard so he could skateboard around. He doesn’t want to do tricks, just get around and we had fun looking up every single one and the pros/cons and finally picking one. He also enjoys playing Magic so I got him some new decks and I can’t wait to open them with him, he loves to explain what each card does and he even though he has already built me a deck to play with him I like that he always swaps out cards for my deck to get better. I am not very good at playing but I do love spending time with him and him taking the time to explain why each card is important.

I am so excited it is his birthday that I have been up since 5am on a Saturday fully knowing he won’t get up until at least noon if he had it his way lolololol. He didn’t want a party, just ride his long board and go out to eat for dinner, but that feels too simple and hope he enjoys his day. I hate how time can be a thief and while I get so sad knowing he is growing up, the only thing that comforts me is that he is growing up to be such a wonderful man. I will enjoy every minute I have with him forever.