Fifteen years ago today I held my son Noah for the first time, seconds after he was born. There are powerful moments in one’s life and I have been both lucky and worked hard to be able to fulfill some childhood wishes. I have stood on the ruins of Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness, touched the Western Wall, seen the buildings at Petra and seen the splendor of the Grand Canyon. All those moments combined cannot match power of holding my son. And in those 15 years I have found myself feeling at times like a failure as a parent and at times I know I have helped him be the young man he is becoming. Today is a double milestone as he starts high school officially this morning. So I wanted to think about the 15 things that makes me glad that Noah is my son.
1. He can quote Monty Python skits including the over the top British Accents, and not just the popular one.
2. He has always appreciated good food, he often asks for duck fat French fries and Truffle Mac and Cheese.
3. He loves a wide range of music, but in the car he says “Do you have your Ipod? Can you play the Kid Delicious Mix?
4. He can daven the Shabbat and Weekday services and even though he doesn’t always want to, he can engage the service when asked.
5. He cares about the feelings of others and is always ready to see what he can do to help them. He recently asked me for his allowance to donate it to a cause he liked.
6. He has never been materialistic and even when shopping for something for him; he balances cost versus the value to him. He doesn’t care if he has the next big thing.
7. He makes Dianne feel like a mom, and makes sure that we consider her when having fun.
8. He lets me win on the Wii since he is 10x better at most of the games and feels bad for me.
9. He has a great sense of humor and lets it out in subtle ways.
10. There are times I have to tell him to stop reading…he reads when he brushes his teeth.
11. He thinks sushi is the greatest idea in food, ever.
12. He is at home in a museum of art. Loves Pollack and Kandinsky.
13. He acts like “A Picker” at garage sales and at what we call The Crazy Goodwill.
14. He is curious about the world. He wants to know things…about lots of things.
15. He doesn’t truly know what he wants to do in life, but he wants to make a difference.
Noah has been a great part of my life, today he take another step into being more independent and more “grown up”. Happy Birthday to my Noah.
2 comments:
A lovely post. Happy birthday, Noah!
George, what a beautiful tribute! Happy birthday to Noah indeed!
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