Today my not-so-baby-boy turned sixteen. Sixteen! Wow! Here's my boy eleven years ago, when he turned five.
And here he is now, on the threshold of becoming a man, deep voice, strong as an ox, so much taller than me, but still gentle with animals and females.

I love talking with my boy. He'll spend long hours telling me about particle physics or nanotechnologies or the dutch artist Mondrian or some other topic which has grabbed his interest and he's researched.

This morning, after the requested breakfast of homemade waffles, he worked out with his dad and I, then he helped his dad adjust the clutch on the motorcycle. When Bubba came home from her nanny job, we had lunch together, ran some errands and then came home and finished putting together and frosting his german chocolate cake. It was a good day, a blessed day to be able to be with one another.

He is finding his way. What he wants to 'be when he grows up' changes often - from lawyer to research scientist to physicist to computer game designer to software designer to investment banker to teacher to chef to psychologist. He's smart and kind and considerate. He remembers the most amazing complex details and grasps concepts that I can not begin to understand. He's always thought mathematically. He has a way with animals and small children. Although he does not express it often, he has a definite artistic streak - it shows in his cooking and his writing.

I am so proud of him and I love him so much. I feel so blessed to have Boy as a son and to be able to watch him grow and change. I wish and hope for the best for him, for him to be happy, to give back to this world, to grow and learn all of his days and to spread joy and peace in his path and for him, in time, to find and nurture a good love.