So, here's to you, Alexander. Happy Golden Birthday!!!
Golden Boy
“And
fleet the time carelessly, as they did in the golden world.”
-As
You Like it, William Shakespeare
Once in a
lifetime for most, twice if you are lucky
The stars
align, the number converge
The date on
the calendar matched the number of years
You’ve
traveled this world. For you it is this year
Fifteen on
the fifteenth of February. Fifteen squared—two hundred and twenty-five
A number of
no other significance than what it signifies.
Only it was
spent away from home and friends
Celebrating
your sister’s graduation. And though
You chafed
at the usurpation, your true mettle shown though.
There are
three hundred and sixty-four days left to celebrate
My golden
boy, my happy-go-lucky boy.
That fifteenth day, born barely past the midnight hour
By sheer
force of will and a colluding nurse.
Seems like
yesterday. You have grown it seems in an instant
Tiny infant
to twenty pounds and more,
Tongue-tied
to toddler to teenager
Always with
a ready smile and a tangential thought.
You are a thinker. Deep thoughts on the road to school
While I sing
along to the radio and annoy you.
You grouse
at the sound, but always with a slight smile on your face
As if you
really secretly enjoy it. I listen as you
Explain the finer
points of Minecraft grateful for the
Time spent
just being with you. It will pass soon enough.
In many ways
you remain a mystery to me.
Perhaps that
is the gap that always exists between Mother and son, if Dr. Freud is to be believed
Though I have my doubts. Perhaps it is in the fundamental
Differences between men and women, but that doesn’t matter to me.
What matters is this: You are my boy, my sunny boy. And I will love you always.
