Growin' Like A Breeze...

I drove through 8 states on the way to drop Ellie off for a second year at Camp Hollymont in Asheville, NC... Once beyond New Jersey, we hit Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia before we hit Virginia, the lengthiest part of the ride...and it was beautiful, I must add...the Shenandoah River Valley and the Appalachian region...truly beautiful country. Then to my complete surprise, upon exiting Virginia after a Friday night layover in Roanoke (and a visit to Hollywood's Restaurant where they had a menu item called "Better Than S*x" and I mortified Ellie by jokingly telling the waitress: "I'll have two of those..."), we crossed the state line into...wait, what?... Tennessee??...huh? I am an Elvis girl, you all know, so I am all about Tennessee...but, really? Tennessee? I guess I thought Tennessee was somewhere else...obviously my geography is way the hell off because those crooked state lines down there got me all screwed up... I trusted

my Garmin though, and it was correct, because we arrived in Asheville, NC only about 90 minutes after we crossed into Tennessee... Those 90 minutes brought us through the most amazing vistas of the Blue Ridge Mountains... I wish I could have taken it in deeper, but even the glimpses through my windshield were breathtaking... In my head I was humming a little John Denver "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and choking up...partially because it is sad that John Denver is gone...but mostly because this is truly a spectacularly beautiful country.

Anyway...once in NC, Ellie and I hit the Little Pigs BBQ for lunch, bought Lilly Pulitzer dresses at Palm Village to wear to dinner and (at the recommendation of the always spot-on, Helen) checked into the super chic Grand Bohemian Hotel. Perched at the base of the Biltmore Estates, Grand Bohemian is this fabulous boutique-y hotel with a hunting lodge vibe...moose heads on the walls, animal-

hide upholstered chairs... Hill Country antiques and artwork...so fab (like the other end of the universe compared to the Un-Pleasant View Inn of Westerly, RI...)... We ate at The Red Stag Inn and chit chatted and shared secrets and fell asleep together one last night before I had to let her go for two weeks... And the next morning, I did just that...she asked me to drive away when she wasn't looking because she couldn't bear to see me go...heartbreaking! So I did....and just under 11 hours later, at 9:11 p.m. on Sunday evening, I pulled into my driveway... The house seems empty without her...

But...

I had to get home...I had to bust through those 8 states before Monday morning so that I could wake next to my sweet little darling, Will, whose 8th birthday was that day. He entered this world with a bang, you will all remember, in a touch and go emergency C-section...and from the minute they wheeled me in to see him, all wrapped and swaddled like a little football-sized sausage, he stared into my eyes after all that trauma...and damn if he didn't have my number right from that moment. We have been nearly inseparable ever since...and secretly, my heart hurts when we are apart.

As you know, it is my tradition to salute my kids on their birthdays so that someday they will have proof how much they meant to me... And there is a boatload I could say about Will...I could go on for hours... I could tell you all about how he's my most challenging, outspoken, competitive and the most naughty...how he's been known to break into fisticuffs with his brother on the church steps after CCD...how once he drew a picture of two people sitting at a table and having dinner and drinks in the "date" field at the top of his homework page...and how he argued almost to the death with me because I didn't want him to name his new Wholly Mammoth Webkinz "Horny..."

And I could go on and on about how Will brings such joy to everyone...about his natural humor, vast creativity and staunch individuality.... how he tends to be obsessive with his passions...how since Day 1 he has been fixated on architecture and building construction, pointing out improvements that could be made in every structure we enter...how he loves music and will ask me to play songs over and over ("The Boxer" is a fave...so is "Centerfold"...no joke...) while he quietly listens (and yells at the other two if they dare sing along...)...and how not only

has he watched Titanic over 50 times, he can rattle off facts about the actual ship and its ill-fated

voyage like he is talking about breakfast. And I could ramble on about how super ballsy he can be -- loudly

and confidently ordering a Bud from the vendor at the Yankee game; sneaking into the VIP section of some fundraiser/party we attended at the Yogi Berra Museum at Montclair State...(the kid walks right the hell up to Yogi...by the time I enter the room he is posing for a picture with the legend...and the next thing I know, he's poising with the Jersey Boys. As we walked out, Will goes: "I love it in first class...")

I can blather on about his sensitive side...how he cares for his two stuffed rabbits (Bunny and Junior) as if they were his real children...how he cries profusely when his sister or brother are hurt...how he is always sharing his wishes and hopes and dreams with me...how he ends each school day running to me and throwing his arms around my neck...and how he says he likes to snuggle up right next to me on the couch so when he looks away from the TV, all he can see is my face... My god, has anyone else ever loved me like that?

But Will is best understood when speaking for himself...and his most marked characteristic is his wit, which births the pithy bon-mots that effortlessly fall from his lips... You know, many times he fully gets his jokes...but often he is just observing...and I am not sure which of those instances I love more. Many of you have been subjected to these bits here and there, and others of you have experienced Will's musings firsthand...but for the rest of you, I couldn't possibly leave you out...so as a birthday tribute to the little monster, I have compiled some favorites below...and no doubt you will find yourself oddly drawn to him like those of us who share his life are...

As the entire family sits down to enjoy our Easter feast, Will asks with strength and clarity: "hey Mom, what does 'puberty' mean?"....

"Mommy, why do robbers and mimes wear French hats?

Explaining Taylor Ham and its Jersey-centric appeal and limited availability to Will, who asks: "You mean even China people and the ones in New York City don't know about it?"

Papa and Will discussing how everyone remembers learning how to ride a bike...Papa:"When you are an adult and you are talking about your childhood...." Will, cutting Papa off: "don't worry, I'll mention you."

Will: "what's a lesbian?" Ellie: "a woman who loves another woman." Will: "well you love Mommy..." Ellie: "no, it's when two women get married." Will: "that's not a lesbian...that's a gay person!"

Will: "Mom, my stomach hurts" Me: "Well then you need to stop drinking that Diet Coke." Will: "oh no Mom, my stomach hurts in a way where I NEED to drink Diet Coke..."

"Mom, I've decided what to be for Halloween this year...a Bud Lite!"

"I don't care what you say about being German, you are more than half Irish and Daddy is too...that makes me 100% Irish!"

“Tim, you have to go to Yale, I want to be the only one to go to Princeton…Dad, tell Tim he has to go to Yale!”

"I don't like salad. It's gross. I mean, it's just leaves with toppings on it..."

After a day of playing with my sister's dogs: "I hate Rocko's personality...but I like playing games with him. Well, I guess it would be his dog-nality that I don't like."

Apparently considering possible destinations for his 10th birthday trip, he says: "Mom, what city is less than 2 hours by plane?" Me: "Uh...Cleveland?" Will: "That settles it, I am going to Cleveland for my 10th birthday!"

Upon serving Will his toasted (blackened) muffin one morning: "Aw Mom, it's burned..." I say: "No, it's crispy.."...his retort: "Yeah, that's because you burned it!"

"Baseball is cancelled? Well that's ok...I mean, I like playing baseball, I guess, but we're not on TV

so what's the point?"

Will: "I got a C on my practice spelling test." Me: "A C? How did that happen?" Will, without irony: "Well it was just the practice test, it doesn't count towards my college grades..." (the "C" was for "correct" by the way...)

Tim: "Mom, what happens when you die?" Will, interjecting matter-of-factly: "After you die you are born again as someone else..." Tim, to me: "Is that true?" Will: "Of course it is..."

“Some people think they are born to do something, but they’re really not. I KNOW I was born to be a great architect.”

and lastly...

"Mom, I am going to build all kinds of ships when I grow up

...the future is going to be SO cool with me around..."

*sigh*

I may be biased...I'm his mother, after all...but my feeling has always been that the present with Will has been exponentially cooler than I ever could have guessed it would be...so yes, I'd say the future is looking brilliant white...bright and sunny and super cool...

And like that beautiful countryside, I want to drink it all in...every word my beloveds utter... Because, you know, that's how I know I will never forget how blessed and lucky we are to have one another to share the future with...

Happy Birthday, Baby Boy! And to my big sis, Cathleen too...this family's original quick-witted Leo...xoxo

Photos:

1 - 3: Roadtripping: 1) The girls...2) Shot from the driver's seat...entering a Blue Ridge Mountain vista... 3) Reuniting with Camp bestie, Kathryn...

4, 5 & 7 - 12: Will at various ages with the people who love him...

6: Clever rendering of how Will sees the "date"...