monday's child is fair of face, tuesday's child is full of grace, wednesday's child is full of woe, thursday's child has far to go, friday's child is loving and giving, saturday's child works hard for a living. but the child that's born on the sabbath day is blithe and winsome and bonny and gay...
my son's birthday dawns as clear and as bright as the day he was born, 23 years ago. he was my sunday baby and he came kicking and screaming into the world two weeks late. he emerged red, wizened and wet, and he literally howled for hours afterward. at least we were sure there was nothing wrong with his lungs.
like a lot of kids, jamie was full of questions. unlike most kids, "i don't know" or "we'll have to ask so-&-so that" wasn't an acceptable answer. if i tried to explain to him that mommy didn't know the answer to a question that required an understanding of algebra, chemistry, or physics, for example, he would narrow his eyes and scream: OH YES YOU DO, as if i were deliberately witholding a Secret of the Universe.
jamie also didn't believe that no meant no. if i tried taking a toy out of his reach, jamie didn't believe the game was over - he thought i'd just added a new dimension. he loved to climb. once i found him on top of the refrigerator. another time i found him running up and down the dining room table holding on to the brass ring at the bottom of the chandalier.
when he got older, he'd disappear for hours, despite my explanations that not telling mommy where one can be found constitutes a violation of the rule against hurting oneself AND the rule against hurting someone else, since it was mommy who experienced heart palpitations every time jamie got himself lost.
what kept him alive, i think, beyond his unshakeable belief in his own immortality, is his undeniable, indisputable charm. tall, with my father's eyes and my mother's smile, jamie is as winsome, bonny and blithe as they come. (i wish he'd tell my ex he's gay. he's not, but it would really bother my ex.)
i read somewhere that for every boy a woman raises, she loses five years off her life.
happy birthday, jamie-jim... from the mommy who never wanted to live forever, anyway.
2 comments:
Awww...I love the posts you write about your kids on their birthdays. Jamie does indeed sound full of life and charm. I bet the ladies love him! (Or guys, if he really is gay). i didn't quite get if that was a joke or not...
:)
happy, happy!
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