Sweet 16

When I woke up this morning, I was the father of a 16 year old son.

How did it happen?  

To quote Ernest Hemingway in The Sun Also Rises, "Gradually, then suddenly."  

That quote perfect describes how I feel about JP turning 16 years old today.  It seemed like his childhood would last forever and that I would be the father of a young boy forever but as it turns out, that's not how it works.  It seems like yesterday that I planned my Saturdays and Sundays around our morning or afternoon strolls around the neighborhood, as often as not ending up at Bongo Java for coffee.  Today, he's driving.

"Gradually, then suddenly."

Last night, our friend, Kim, had to go to the emergency room and went there to be with her because her husband, Hal, is out of town.  When I got home, JP was just going to bed.  Jude, laughing, told me later that all night long, JP was practically bouncing off the walls in anticipation of turning 16.  He's such an even keeled kid.  Never too up or too down.  For him to get so excited about something and to show that excitement is out of character for him but very cool, too.

This morning, asked him if he wanted to drive to school.  He said he wanted to ride, so he could relax and think about his day.  I think he wanted to contemplate what it means to be 16 and how things are going to be changing in a very real way, very soon.  And, too, how they will never be the same.  The truth of the matter, of course, is that they won't be. 

When I turned 16, I was overwhelmed with a profound feeling of freedom and independence.  I would never have to rely on someone else to drive me somewhere.  Never again.  I could drive myself to school, to work, or to a friend's house.  I could drive to the beach or to California.  I could drive to familiar places or to places I had never seen.  Suddenly, the world was wide open to me, waiting expectantly for me to explore it. 

I wonder if JP was feeling those things as I drove him to MBA today.  Probably that and a whole lot more.

As I so often say, I don't know what I did to deserve a son like JP.  He's a gift.  I can't remember what my life was like without him.  

16 is the big one, maybe the biggest one of all.  Happy birthday, JP.  

I'm proud of you and I love you.