This Boy!

Andrew at 3 days old. 

Hello Friends,  Summer is here and with it comes lazy mornings, relaxing evenings, and fun times.  Andrew has been in Chicago this week with Aunt Melissa and I usually enjoy him being gone for about a week.  Today marks a week of his absence in our house, and I am ready for him to come home.  With his 17th birthday just around the corner, I have been a bit nostalgic the past few days, thinking that he is only a few years away from being gone.  Where have the past few years gone?  It seems like it was only yesterday that I was bringing him home from the hospital.  I often call Andrew my gift from God for many reasons, one of which being that I don't think he would be here without a bit of intervention from above.  A lot of prayer, a super doctor, and weekly injections made my pregnancy possible.  While I know I look about 15 years old in this picture, I was an older mother at age 30 and we were ready to give our child all the love we had to give.  

    

Andrew at 3

Andrew at 5

I was fortunate to be able to stay home with Andrew, so I stopped teaching and was a full time mom.  It had always been my dream to be a stay-at-home mom!  I loved the time I stayed home!  Lots of the time it was just Andrew and I because his father always traveled for his job.  We were two peas in a pod!  We had a comfortable home, great friends and family, and we had so much fun. We moved to Kirksville when Andrew was three, and even though I started working, I still treasured every minute with my boy!  I have written about my commitment to parenting in previous blogs, but there was no other important thing in my life.  Being Andrew's mom was all I wanted to do!  He was such a sweet little guy, always polite and loving.  He slept when he was supposed to sleep, he cuddled when I wanted to cuddle, and we were happy. While it is stressful to be a single parent, I look back on those days with a joy I didn't feel as I was going through it. I was Andrew's mom!

Andrew at 9

As Andrew grew, he became more independent - as kids do - but I still felt that tug at my heart each time we hugged or cuddled.  They tell you before you become a parent that you don't understand love before children, and I can tell you that is true!  One of the things that happens with an only child is that they are often treated like an adult.  This has been true with Andrew!  In some respects we have been fortunate that my sister has 2 boys and they were together a lot, so they were almost like brothers.  Andrew and I loved to do projects together.  We would do things in the yard, or around the house, or for my parents.  Andrew has always been a worker, just like me.  We often accomplished things that astounded me!  

Vacation 3 years ago

It goes without saying that I love my boy!  While he is sometimes a pain in my behind, he is a very good kid. He is responsible and loving, a hard worker, and  very compassionate.  I am so proud of him!  He has lots of really great qualities.  School isn't easy for Andrew, nor does he work as much as he should at it. But he does other things without difficulty.  I have watched him take apart a lawn mower and put it back together.  I have seen him fix items in our house.  These are things I did not teach him!  He figured it out on his own!  He is an awesome traveler.  I love taking trips with him - even though he does get stressed out sometimes!  

Happy Birthday to my baby boy Andrew!  As much as you will hate this, you are still my baby.  I will love you for always.  Our lives will change in many ways over the coming years, but I will always be there for you!  No matter what!

I LOVE to hear Andrew laugh!

Until later Friends, Julie