The (almost) last of the birthdays

At least traditionally for the young'uns.  Now that we have our first November baby in the family, that title will pass to him.  Nonetheless, October, in addition to having my late Grandma's birthday, the month of my best childhood friend's birthday, and the Feast of St. Francis to boot, was also the month our oldest son was born. 

Not the one born to the best fortunes, he suffered from ill health in his early years.  We never knew why.  But endless doctors visits and hospitals and surgeries were his lot in his youngest days.  A lot of it was respiratory, and we began to think that living in the Ohio River Valley, known for its panoramic vistas of endless coal plants and thousand foot smokestacks, might be part of the culprit. 

In 1999, while I was pastoring a church in southeast Indiana, and quite frankly one of the most pleasant of all the congregations I ministered to, we nonetheless decided to move away.  We came up to Ohio, where skies might be gray more often than not, but without the same industrial blanket covering the air.

And things turned for him.  Within a year, most of the problems he had vanished, which was nice.  Of course being the first child he was what all first children are, and that's our guinea pig.  You look back when you're a parent at your first kiddo and just shake your head.  By the time the other ones come along, you're already getting your parent's feet on firm ground.  But those first ones are the ones who bear the brunt of your learning.

Nonetheless, with all the ups and downs he lived through, I can't deny he makes us proud.  Everyone here knows how he had planned to go into the world of gourmet cooking, only to be torpedoed by an out of the blue seafood allergy.  After wondering for a year or so what to do then, he finally found his new path and has been working toward it, where he stands today.  

But he has a knack for excelling whenever he puts his mind to it.  In middle school, though already involved in school activities like band, he decided to go out for track in order to enter the sports side of life.  It was a dismal performance.  At one point during a race, he actually veered off the track and slipped and fell.  The good news was that he was so far behind everyone else, nobody noticed.  Not to be beaten, however, he went out for cross country the following year. He asked me - who had run track and such in my day- to train him.  And so I did.  By the end of that season, he was second in his school only to the boy who was a freak of nature when it came to running, with our son often coming in near the front few even with multiple schools competing. 

But that's been him.  He may start out slow.  Sometimes he takes forever to start.  And that wasn't the only time he began with a trip and a fall.  But once he hunkers down and sets his mind to it, even if life throws him a curve ball that makes him change his entire life's plans, he ends up graduating, and with honors to boot. 

By request, a family outing for our yearly pumpkins

And off to a local college football game

Not OSU, but a great game and a great time nonetheless

For old times' sake on our way from the old apple orchard

A nice shot that captures his thoughtfulness

Getting her own pumpkin right before her brother arrived!

Right now he is in the process of going back to graduate school, the application being quite an undertaking, given his major.  More on that down the line.  As it is, he's still that oldest son.  And while we have always loved our sons equally and have made sure to divvy out our attentions across the board, there is no denying that there will always be something about that first child - no matter how old they are.  

Obligatory gloating over the grandkids picture, speaking of birthdays - now that they're both here to cause endless mischief: