my oldest child turns 22 today.

ben, age 2
striving to see the goat at the zoo
b&w
and yep, shot by me :)

~::~

we have grown up together, he and i. his "birth father," my former spouse, and i failed to see eye-to-eye on many an issue, matters of spirituality being one of them (he claimed there was no God, i begged to differ) and what with my tender age of 19 factoring into play and being desirous of leaving my childhood home o' dysfunction, it lead me to make decisions that were not all that adult.

but i never wished ben away. not once.

he was always my special guy and what always floored me and still does to this day is when single women would not admit to having a child until after the third date or so -- i always put it out there before the close of the initial telephone conversation, which i did with jimbo.

"would you like to go to dinner (insert night of week here)?"

"i have to see if i can get a sitter..."

"may i call you tomorrow to confirm?" he never even asked how many children i had, bless his heart.

if anyone balked, that was cool. i would want to know at the outset because ben meant just that much to me. i would never have denied having him. he was and still is my sunshine.

i love you ben, for the fine person, gentle and caring young man and genuine soul you have turned out to be. you have a heart for people and a heart for God, and through all of your love, God has continuously blessed me and anyone who knows you with your presence.

happy birthday, boo.