Wednesday, June 14, 2023

HARRY IS SEVENTEEN TODAY

 My first baby! The one whose labor was a sit-com! (Husband out of town, college-age fraternity president little bro staying with me just in case, water breaking out of nowhere, husband missing last flight back to town and driving through the night fielding calls from brother cleaning amniotic fluid out of the car, 4 young grandparents crying in the next room when they heard the baby’s first cry through the thin hospital walls) IS SEVENTEEN! TODAY! What.

I wish people would tell me all the time that I don’t look old enough to have a 17-year old, but I look exactly that old— it’s the toddler who’s an incongruity.

He’s a WONDERFUL kid, you guys. Smart. Responsible. Funny. Kind. He’s a baseball umpire, a life guard and little kid swim lesson instructor, a hockey referee. He babysits his siblings and drives them to all of their activities. He is politically active, an excellent public speaker, a great tennis player. He takes honors and AP classes, has a long list of extracurricular commitments, volunteers in the community, and he got into his high school’s chapter of National Honor Society. 

Sometimes if we’re lucky, he hangs out with us and is a genuinely fun companion— like a live-in friend who also trashes our house.

We are so lucky to have him.




19 comments:

  1. Awww. What a lovely post to such a great kid. I mean...not a kid?! Can 17 year olds be kids? Our growing kids are always kids to us. Right?! RIGHT!!! I mean...THIS WILL BE ME IN 5 YEARS and that sounds like a long time but it is NOT and this post is making me not ready for that.

    Also. You need to write a book. The way you write about parenting is deeply insightful, yet hiliarous.

    Like this:
    I wish people would tell me all the time that I don’t look old enough to have a 17-year old, but I look exactly that old— it’s the toddler who’s an incongruity.

    And this...
    Sometimes if we’re lucky, he hangs out with us and is a genuinely fun companion— like a live-in friend who also trashes our house.

    Hahaha.

    Happy Birthday to Harry <3

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  2. Happy Birthday to Harry of Harry Times! What an awesome kid (being made even more awesome by the family responsibilities he's taken on)!!

    Sarah--I visited your post from 2006 to mark the occasion and *honestly* you look exactly the same as you did back then. You're a classic beauty as my parents would say!

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    1. thanks-- I swear I was not fishing, but that is for sure how it sounded.

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  3. Awww! Happy birthday to Harry!!! And to you, who definitely do not look old enough to have a seventeen year old. SEVENTEEN!!!

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  4. Wow! Happy anniversary of becoming a mother to you!

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    Replies
    1. thanks-- it has been a long time! Ben and I toasted with dinner prep beers-- so glam.

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  5. Happy birthday Harry! Seventeen is such a great age. So many wonderful things in store for him!

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  6. Happy birthday and happy 17 years of parenting to you and Ben! I personally do not think you look old enough to have a 17yo son! I can't even wrap my mind around having a teenager, but I've only been married for 7 years! I was clearly a late bloomer since I got married at 36, though. I fear that some day I will be mistaken as my children's grandparents. But that probably won't happen until they are in their teens. Luckily we live in an area where it's not uncommon to have kids later in life. If I was still in ND where I grew up, I'd for sure be tagged as their grandma sooner than later.

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    Replies
    1. It's so weird how fast the time has gone. Like, he was JUST a little kid, you know?

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  7. Da-yum, you hit the kid lottery jackpot! Happy birthday to him, and you.

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  8. Happy Birthday to Harry! It sure goes fast, doesn't it? He sounds like an amazing person!

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  9. Anonymous12:34 PM

    Happy Birthday to Harry! Oh, good (stressful) years, the High School years. Your labor does sound like a sit-com.

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    1. Anonymous12:35 PM

      Not sure why I can't log in. This is J from jellyjules.com. :)

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  10. Happy birthday to Harry. It's like you blinked and it was today, am I right?

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  11. Happy birthday to Harry and happy anniversary to YOU! 17 years!! From what I've seen on the blog, you've raised a really good kid. <3

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  12. So late, but still... wow. A 17 year old. Congratulations on your anniversary of being a mom, and for raising such a wonderful kid. I hope you celebrated yourselves, too.

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