Happy Birthday

Nicholas, my second son,  turns 21 today.  Honestly, where does the time go?  As the result of an ugly divorce,  his older brother came to live with me and Nicholas stayed with his father. It wasn't as cut and dry as all that but that was the end result. There isn't a day that goes by where I don't wonder what I could have done differently but in reality it wasn't my decision.  At the time, there was very little I could do  without causing more damage.  It is a legal system, not a justice system,  after all, and the one with the most cash  or better attorney (same thing) still wins.

On the day of his birth, the pediatrician told me he didn't know if Nicholas would make it through the night.  He was born early, he had a low birth weight, it was turning into a cold winter and he had an extreme case of jaundice.  But survive he has with a taste for pickle juice, hot salsa and salty chips.

Twenty-one is a golden age.   A milestone.   The age when suddenly adulthood can no longer be denied.
We love you dear heart. HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

Nicholas in my mother's garden.