Saturday, August 20, 2016

Decade

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10 years. Double digits. An entire decade of watching Owen evolve from a jaundiced, sleep-renouncing newborn with a disproportionately large head, to a... kid. A kid who will quiz you on the Revolutionary War, Greek Mythology, Zoology, parts of the brain and Pokémon characters in a single afternoon. A kid who will tell a joke or interject a snarky comment, but will then tear up if he doesn't like how you laughed at it. A kid who hates Donald Trump, loves Elvis Costello and plays a mean OK Go on the cello. And while there are still moments when Owen's youthfulness is on full display -- when he sulks after being corrected or rides the tricycle across the living room, or just experiences the kind of unadulterated joy that adults can never seem to achieve -- a more mature side is emerging. Owen's becoming someone who listens to the news, asks pointed questions and has surprising insights. Someone who tries to cheer people up by finding a bright side. Someone who takes moral stands for causes he believes in. And someone who can beat me at corn hole without any handicaps.

I love all sides, very much. Happy birthday, Owen, it's been an amazing 3,653 days.
  1. Ah, the suite life.
  2. Some days, your amygdala just can't take it.
  3. "I threw myself to the wolves, only to learn of the tenderness in their howl, and the loyalty in their blood." ~ Isra Al-Thibeh
  4. Orchestra and Chorus are two very distinct things. Something you might want to clarify before agreeing to join the wrong one.
  5. It's easier to be a good loser, when you steal home under the tag.
  6. "Seriously?"
  7. Rick Riordan was mistaken: Mount Olympus hasn't actually relocated to the top of the Empire State Building.
  8. Two words: bone scythe.
  9. It's not easy, being green.
  10. Sometimes life comes down to a single moment, when all eyes are on you watching to see if you will succeed or fail. A lot of times in your life, you'll come up empty: drop the ball resulting in the game winning run; miss the tie-breaking question; flub a note during your solo. It happens to us all, and it's a disappointment that we all learn to cope with. But sometimes, you come through in the clutch. And those moments are glorious.



2 comments:

Ginny Zimmerman said...

Happy Birthday, Owen! Welcome to the second decade of your life! Grandma Z

Ginny Zimmerman said...

Happy birthday, Owen!

As you know, I am, or at least used to be, a computer whiz and we computer whizzes use hexadecimal (base 16) arithmetic a lot. So, in hexadecimal, you are A and tomorrow, you will be A+

Love
Grandpa Z