splendid

as our oldest celebrates turning 14, words fail me. he's so grown in so many ways and such a naive boy in others. it's heart breaking in all the good ways.

i look at him and wonder. what will become of this boy? will he continue to be wooed by the call of the wild that is the world of science? i can't imagine anything else for him.

and i wonder about love. he brushes that off with a "what makes you think i'll ever marry?" then he'll let me in on names he's read in books. names that he might just set aside for his children someday.

i read something recently. 

"As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back."

and it made me think of this face and these eyes and this life. and it made me glad because this boy is just at the beginning of what is sure to be a life of happiness mingled with sorrow, but happy never the less. and so, so great with hope.

happiest of birthdays to our dear boy of 14. he's splendid!

xo,

gf