Yesterday our son, Cameron celebrated his 30th birthday (which is actually Wednesday, but since that is a work day I guess he figured that he needed a few more hours to celebrate other than just after work). Cameron was 9 years old when Randy and I married but he was so easy to love that I felt like he was one of mine from almost the beginning. His wife, Mandy is pg with their first child, due on Randy’s birthday, July 2nd, but after yesterday it is hard to believe that she will actually wait until July 2ne to give birth. This 8 month pg girl planned an all day celebration for Cameron which ended last night at their home with a back yard barbeque for 20 of their closest friends. And us. The old geezers. We were the only ones that was over the age of 30 and well, we are way past the age of 30.I felt so old, I almost made Randy go to CVS to buy us a package of Depends. As we drove away at the late hour of 8 p.m., headed home to dive into our jammies, we recapped the days events. We had met at a restaurant around noon to begin the celebration and once again, being the only ones over 30 we were allowed to listen in to how they felt a birthday celebration should be held. I wish I had recorded the conversation. These poor kids, barely past college, think that the years are all about them. Most of them are just married or engaged and don’t realize that this might be the last year that they will actually be allowed a party until their little ones, are given away in marriage. Just when you think that maybe after raising your children for 18 years life can be about you again, life and celebrations become about grandkids. Randy proceeded to tell Daddy Cameron to enjoy turning 30 and to make the most of it because the next year, their money will all go to giving “Princess Payton” her 1st grand birthday celebration and all he will be doing is cleaning up the cake from the floor that Princess will be throwing, trying to capture the once in a lifetime event on video and taking out the dirty diaper pail. Cameron laughed. Poor guy, he just doesn’t realize that his life, as he has known it, is over.
When we gathered at their house last night with their friends we noticed several things. The guys that didn’t have babies yet were sitting outside with a celebratory cigar and holding a beer. The ones who were already “dads” were inside, squatting beside their little darlings, cutting up the hot dogs on animal shaped paper plates trying to get the little ones to hurry and finish so they could join their friends outside. As soon as the little ones discovered the “doggie door” which led to the back yard, the dads spent the entire evening getting the kids unstuck from the doggie door, which the “undads” just looked on and laughed and gave thanks that they were still allowed to sit and “party down”. Well, we were informed that in the past these sweet couples who bonded while in college would party until the wee hours of the morning. This party ended at 8 After all, most of them had to take the kids home to put then to bed, which made us look pretty good. We weren’t the only ones that needed to leave early. As we stood around last evening it gave us reflection of years gone by. Years when we were the ones going from newlyweds to parents and thinking that we had the whole world ahead of us. Did we feel old last night? A little, as we would listen to stories of childbirth and problems with day care and schedules and being tired all the time we listened to the moms talk about things their little darlings would never do, well, I just smiled. Bless their hearts, can’t wait to hear some of their stories a few years down the road. But it also made us grateful that we are blessed with some incredible kids. That in spite of our mistakes, failures and not so perfect decisions, God has given us adult children that we enjoy being with as not only family but as friends. Also on the ride home we talked about some of the dreams that we had for our kids and realized that they are now the ones who will be going down that path of wonder and acquiring dreams for their kids. It is great to watch them begin to realize that life is full of promise, full of hope and that in each season of this life, we create memories, not only for ourselves, but for those who are now watching this new generation grow into the dreams that we had for them.
It makes us happy to see that our children have learned that life is to be celebrated, whenever given the chance…take it! All the celebrations make the best memories. So when Randy and I really are in Depends and too old to actually attend celebrations, we will have the best of memories. Thank you Cameron and Mandy for including us.
Chocolate Castles as wel 