Way to go, Cheek!

Some of you have already heard the news, but for the vast majority of you the grapevine hasn't quite threaded its way to you yet. This past weekend my "baby" turned 17...I'm still stunned at the quick passage of all those years. It was the first time he wasn't home for his birthday. We had to postpone the festivities (minor as they were) to Sunday night when he returned from his weekend away at Camp Enterprise.

For more info on Camp Enterprise, you can go here: http://www.rotary-austin.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=77
There were over 200 students from all the area high schools interviewed and about 100 of them were invited to participate, four were from his school. Over the course of the weekend they listened to lectures, learned how to create a business plan, conceptualized a product and then proposed it all to the "judges," made up of Rotarians that sponsored the weekend. At lunchtime on Sunday, he called to say that his team were in the Final Three and later that afternoon he told us that his team of ten were awarded the scholarship money! ($700 !! EACH!!) So, we are very proud of him as you might well imagine.

In thinking about how he's grown up over the last seventeen years, I can't help but reminisce about the things he did and said as a small child. Things that made me warm with pride, laugh until it hurt, marvel at the way his growing and curious mind worked, and even those moments that broke my heart. The things that have shaped his humor, his interests, his fears and his strengths. And although I'm the first to admit that my memory is one of the worst to behold, there are events that shine brightly in the darkened halls of my mind's library.

It's funny what phrases come to mind and it's always fun to hear things that my long-time friends seem to remember about him, those moments that they hold precious even though he's my son. Here are a few of my favorites:
"I have to take them off! My pants are disturbing me." - This kind of haunts me actually. I used to joke while he was still "in my belly" that I was planning on raising a nudist, at least for the first five years of his life because kids seemed to grow out of clothes so quickly it would save on my barely-existent cache of cash. However, when he plainly announces at the age of three that he can no longer bear to wear his jeans for another moment because they "disturb" him, regardless of the fact that there are non-relatives in the vicinity, I can't help but laugh it off and wrap him in a blanket.
"I LOVE Chinese pizza!" - The other day a friend of mine reminded me of this one. She says it's one of her favorite memories of the little J. It refers to the pizza served on the children's portion of the buffet at a favorite local Chinese place. Not all kids love "trees" (aka broccoli) or the like that can be found mixed in with some of the usual Chinese buffet fare, but he did like the ambiance (okay, the decor) of said restaurant and it was one of his favorite hangouts with Grampa.
"Cheek? That's what she calls me sometimes...it's short for Cheeky Monkey." - I overheard this one day whilst picking him up from another busy day at after-school daycare. I didn't even realize I called him that in public, it was my little family nickname for him thanks in part to Mike Myers and his Simon skits on SNL. Stated so matter-of-factly by my son that the audience he was addressing didn't feel the need to question it any further, not even so much as to ask "What IS a Cheeky Monkey??" It was also the moment I realized that he had learned the greatest ability to take things in stride, that although his mom was a little quirky and sometimes embarrassing he was alright with that and that's when I knew he would be strong enough to remember not to take life too seriously, that you pick your battles, and some things just aren't worth sweating. Ok. Maybe not all that profundity at once. But it didn't bother him and I took that as a good sign.
"Etc. Etc. ETC!" - I like to bring this up from time to time, somewhat as a tool of embarrassment that I use on the grumpy mono-syllabic teenager that possesses my child on occasion. Imagine if you will a four-year old decked out only in his Scooby-Doo Underoos with a severe case of "bed-head" mimicking the stern voice of Yul Brynner in "The King & I," hands on hips for emphasis. It's a great image and one I hope to re-create in any grandchild that might bless my far-off future. Let me get the hang of this parenting thing first before I tackle the joys of being a grandparent, please.

Some other moments I cherish (and potential blog topics for the future):
Learning to swim.
Home Alone Redux
That's a LOT of poop.

There are many more and I would love to collect your memories as well. Please share any you might have, you know how to get in touch!