September 19, 1988

September 19, 1988 was a game changer. I have read that for some of us it's hard to know the love of a parent until we become a parent ourselves.

I did not realize how true this was for me until September 19, 1988 when at 11:30 pm the doctor said "It's a boy!" Groggy with anesthesia I looked up at David III and said, "I think it must be David." He nodded and said "Yes, I think so". We hadn't really made a decision about a boy name until then, but as soon as he was born, David was who he was. He has been who he is ever since.

Parenting comes with joy, hopes, dreams, sometimes fear, sometimes pure terror, but with a love that is hard to describe.

Like most parents, there are many proud parent stories I could tell about both our boys, but will limit myself to just a little bit about David on the anniversary of his birthday.

David is a a very logical person with an engineering mind. He has a great sense of humor, but generally sees things as they are and cuts to the chase.

One morning, when he was sixteen and just had his driver's license, he came downstairs and told me about a dream. In the dream he was driving and tried to put on the brakes but his car wouldn't stop. He said the dream went on and on and he kept trying to apply the brakes. It was scary until finally the car stopped.

Perhaps a little over analytical, as I can sometimes be, I suggested that maybe this meant his life was moving too fast with turning sixteen and being able to drive and all and that maybe he just needed to slow down a little bit. He looked at me and said "Really? I thought it meant my brakes were bad!"

Maybe it meant my life was moving too fast.

When David was at Shelby High School he played football, wrestled and ran track. In his senior year, he was running hurdles in a state qualifier. He was close to taking first place when he hit the hurdle and he turned a complete flip in the air and landed on the track. In one fluid motion he rolled, got up, kept running and still placed third overall. The fans cheered his effort with a standing ovation. He did qualify for states and went on to place third in North Carolina in 2A 300 meter hurdles. We were proud of his record but more proud that he did not give up.

This weekend we celebrated David's 22nd birthday at a home Wofford Football game. The weather was beautiful and Wofford won 48-10 over Union, Ky. David was cleared to play after his recent health issue and we knew how much dressing out for the game meant to him. We were happy for him but really thankful that throughout the game he was running up and down the field in 100% healthy condition.

We had a big, fun tailgate with everyone adding something to the menu. At one time there were at least four dads cooking different things on the grill. Players, friends and families celebrated the big win and the big variety of tailgating food. When the cooking and eating slowed down, I looked around and thought it was sweet that the players had migrated into small groups to spend a little time with their own parents and families.

Later on, we packed up and took leftovers to David and roommates, Martin, Nate and Mike. Senior Housing at Wofford is like living in a really nice apartment complex in a beautiful setting. David loves it because he can walk out of the door in any direction and be close to so many friends he has made over the last three years. Some of those friends started coming in to celebrate David's birthday. Jay arrived from GWU and we were happy that these two brothers enjoy being together. Then some more friends poured in.

We stayed a little while longer and then headed home knowing the love of a parent.