For my son...

Today is my son's 11th birthday. What an amazing day - the day of his birth and every day thereafter. He is a miracle, a joy, a blessing. While I have had trials and tribulations, stumbles, fumbles and recoveries - he is always that light at the end of the tunnel. My motivation and my drive.

I don't know how and trust me there are many times that I wonder, how he turned out to be such a well balanced wonderful child. I know that there are family members, friends and acquaintances that wonder this too. Afterall, how can a child be so gifted, talented, behaved, mild-mannered, personable and an all around good person when coming from a broken family? Yes, it does happen :) Granted, he's only 1/2 way to adulthood, and I'm not rushing it by any means (Ok, so not having to deal with FOC and the other half - yes I have tried to rush THAT) but I have been so fortunate and blessed. It makes me realize that somewhere along the way, while his parents weren't able to make it work - we have done what is best for him and he has flourished. And that wasn't by co-parenting, but by him benefiting from having two different parents with different parenting styles and personalities. He is an only child in our home and he has a step-sibling and half sibling on his father's side.

It's amazing to see how children grow and develop. How they come up with their own personalities, thoughts and beliefs. How he applies things he has learned to situations and how he ponders questions and beliefs. He poses challenges and is able to speak freely of concerns and ideas. He is intelligent, has common sense and isn't completely naive (like I was at his age and well 15+ years after!).

I never married my son's father. And for that I am thankful. Not that he is a bad man, it just wasn't our time. It wasn't meant to be. As young as I was, I wasn't going to rush into marriage because we were having a child. He wasn't ready to be a father or a husband. I know that breaking off the engagement was the best thing for our son, for us. Our son has two wonderful parents that love him very much, although they show it differently.

So on your birthday son...know that with all my insecurities, hardships, and struggles along our journey, I'm honored, delighted and blessed to have you in my life. I love you...yesterday, today, tomorrow and always. Mom