22

 Yesterday, on May 5th, our oldest child, Andy, turned 22. It is hard for me to believe that I have a child who is 22, but at the same time because I became a mama so young (I was in the last days of being 20) that I cannot fathom a life without children anymore. It seems as if they have always been a part of me. 

Bob and I have always tried to make birthdays a big deal in our house. Bob has always taken the day off from work and the birthday child is allowed to have any food that he/she wishes + we spend the day doing whatever the birthday boy or girl would like to do. 

For his birthday yesterday, Andy requested Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast, TGIF's boneless spicy wings for lunch, and the Olive Garden for dinner. 

After sleeping in quite late Andy got up and opened up his birthday cards and gifts. He wanted to play board games, so we played a couple of rounds of a game called Coup. 

He asked to spend some time at Barnes and Noble pursuing their books and games - which the 4 of us who spent the day with him gladly accommodated. (Josh was not with us until dinner as he had a final and a paper due yesterday). He selected his items (two more Dune books to add to his collection) and we left. 

We then went to his favorite brewery in town called Old Mecklenburg where he and Bobby had a beer while the girls and I had water and iced tea. The brewery is pretty cool - the vibe is relaxing and the decor is really nice. There is a lot of space to move around and they have optimized their outdoor area making it an enjoyable experience. 

Because the kids got up so late it was already time to head to dinner after the brewery. We picked up Josh and headed to the Olive Garden where we enjoyed being together just the six of us. 

After dinner we dropped Josh back off at school and headed home where we played a couple of more board games (House on a Hill and Scythe) and sang to the birthday boy, afterwards enjoying ice cream cake. 

Josh invited Andy to drive up to Belmont and hang out for the night, but Andy declined instead heading to bed after playing games with the four of us. 

It was a privilege to spend the day with Andy as I realize that there will most likely come a day where Andy would prefer to spend his birthdays in the company of others. 

He is the sweetest of boys and I am so lucky to claim him as my own.