Leaving the Teen Years

September 14, 2018

Leaving the Teen Years

Happy 20th birthday Jakob! How can it be? Pretty sure that's the consistent remark every year in my head. There is a special place in the universe for first born children. I should know, being one of them. You are our first...our first experience with practically everything. You've either had it better than or worse than everyone else. Maybe the same as, but you are our learning curve. You're positive that our parenting is becoming lenient and sloppy at times--I know the feeling. I don't think you're wrong, but it's mainly different. I'm sure if we could go back and be less high-strung, expectant and perfectionist in your early years we would totally do it! BUT...I hope you remember all the amazing things that you may be the only one to have benefited. Like complete one-on-one time before you had to share your world and all the things that we had the energy and time to do with you alone and even with you with your siblings...the experiences of decorating for holidays and going all out for birthday parties and trips to the zoo, children's museum, indoor playground and all the places that seem once in a lifetime to your youngest siblings! I hope you have beautiful memories of your childhood. While you technically reached adulthood two years ago, leaving behind the teenage years seems more of a milestone!

I have mostly football pictures in this post, but I decided this would be a really great place to put them! We enjoyed traveling to a few of your games out of town and watching on the home field for the rest of them. Everyone got to watch at some point, including both sets of grandparents!

I can't remember that we celebrated your birthday ON your birthday, but we still had candles to blow out and pictures to take!

In your 20th year you bought a house and flipped it...sort of. We (you, your dad and I) created a business, acquired a property, flipped it and you (and the company) manage the rental it became. It may be interesting years down the road to compare stories...your version vs my version vs your dad's version. It was a great experience overall and I'm so glad that I had that time with you--definitely unlike any of our other previous mother-son bonding experiences for sure!

You are in your junior year of college, pursuing an engineering degree, living away from home, but down the street, and we are thrilled to still have the opportunity to celebrate your birthday with you.

I love these traditions that we've created. I love that we take these pictures. I love the chaos and the off-key birthday song. I love this family that you're part of and glad you're part of it.

The following pictures are compliments of Double 6 photography. I'm happy we have them! I'm glad you chose to play football at NWU. I think you would have missed it if you didn't and I know that the friendships you've formed with your teammates will be important. This brotherhood has been a good thing.