Happy Birthday!

The UT cake
Joey's New Nav System
Today, J. turned 16 years old. SIXTEEN. Since we're an every-other-weekend kinda family, we celebrated the big day last Sunday, complete with enormous orange-and-white cookie cake and chocolate chip ice cream. We, of course, commissioned the Tennessee cookie cake prior to the A-beating the Vols took from Florida. Sadly for J., most of his gifts carried the same UT theme. We're thinking he can just put these away until basketball season, a time of year he can wear them without ridicule.

His haul from the party was pretty decent. He opened several cards filled with cash (his favorite gift), got some UT flip-flops, some UT car mats, a UT license plate -- I TOLD you it was a UT theme this year -- and a Garmin navigation system so that he can always find his way home. For those of you with a Garmin, you'll find that to be kinda funny since the Garmin sometimes doesn't always get you EXACTLY where you're supposed to be!

All in all, it was a low-key, but happy, little soiree. J. seemed content with the festivities, watching pro football and kidding around with the fam. Boys at 16 are so different than girls. Girls live for the Sweet Sixteen. Boys would rather you just write them a check and leave them alone. Girls want to have a huge party, complete with brand new BMW and 1,000 of their closest friends in attendance. Boys want to eat a burger, watch the game and hang out with the guys.

So here's the part where I'm supposed to reflect on how much J. has changed in the 12 years since I have been his Evil Stepmonster. The truth is: He's not that different today than he was all those years ago. He was cuter then, chubbier and he loved to hug. He loved baseball and football, anything he could assemble, puzzles, video games and he always went to bed on time. He made his bed every morning. He never fought me when I told him to do something. He was pretty easy-going. He's almost EXACTLY the same now. Oh, he grumbles sometimes when I ask him to do something, or he just flat out ignores it when I tell him to clean something up. He still loves baseball and football. He still loves figuring out any kind of puzzle you throw at him. He is a guru of the XBox 360 and he still goes to bed when he's tired, whether that's 9:00 or midnight. And every morning after he leaves with his dad for school his bed is made, looking like no one had even been there.

Is he perfect? No. He's a teenager. He's got his secrets. Probably ones I don't want to know anything about. But to us, he's a blessing. He's something to look forward to every Thursday and every other weekend. He's a role model for his sisters, a playmate for his dad and the first child I ever loved and cared for as a mother. He is silly and sarcastic, sometimes quiet and moody. He's funny and a jokester. He's smart and confident. He's an athlete and a fan. He is a big brother and a sweet, sweet son. He is everything we could ever want him to be. And today he turned 16.

Happy Birthday, J.!

P.S. Stay tuned until next week when I report on J.'s first trip to Knox Vegas driving solo with his newly laminated driver's license in his wallet. God help us all!

~Peace