My Baby Turns 14

Days turn into weeks. Weeks turn into months. Months turn into....well, you get the idea. One day you're holding this miraculous creation in your arms, wondering if you can do it "right"; IT being this whole parenting thing. The most important job you'll ever have, yet the one there is no real training for, other than trial & error and a whole lot of prayer. Before you know it, you're staring eyeball to eyeball with a wonderfully independent, ferociously moody teenager who is the first to let you know that there is very little you (Mom) can do "right" :-) It is during those moments that I need to turn a deaf ear to what he is saying and listen, with my heart, to the echoes of his footsteps while he continues on his own journey. He is respectful to others. He doesn't get in trouble at school. He is (mostly) kind & tolerant of his little sister. His grades are decent. AND, he still hugs and kisses me every night before bed and every morning before he heads off to school! When I listen carefully and look closely, I know that I am, in fact, doing more right than I could have imagined. So, as my baby turns 14 today, I will count my blessings and pray that the foundation has been set strongly enough for my James to become a man of honor & integrity. That's really the best we can hope for, isn't it?
***The baby picture was taken the day after I found out that there was a BIG mistake with a MISdiagnosis of a rare, cancerous tumor they thought they had found in my uterine wall. Although the picture quality is not top notch, my expression reflects the relief in my heart!