The Long and Winding Road...With Speed Bumps

Zach isn't home tonight so I decided to write about him without the worry of him coming in and seeing that I was exposing him to the "Blog" world.
He has traveled a long and winding road in his 17 years.

The first picture is when he was still a sweet little toddler..not ashamed of the fact that he was not only wearing Barney sneakers but holding Barney as well... astride a Batman bike with training wheels. Oh if they could only remain in that stage til they moved out!

Then comes the Halloween picture as a tough Mortal Combat character...with his Snow Princess sister by his side. I don't think he's stood that close to Massey since this picture was taken. I loved that age as well. He was just starting to grow up but was still comfortable enough with me putting finger nail polish on his chigger bites on his privates in the summer when he got infested in the woods behind our house or the time he was so sick with the stomach flu that he wandered into my room and said "Will you put that medicine up my butt again to make me stop throwing up?" (You can't raise kids without suppositories on hand.)

Then we move onto the tough phase when they first hit middle school and think they know EVERYTHING...Really, They DO (NOT)

He grew his hair out so long that he made Cousin "It" on the Addams family look like a preppy. The more I encouraged a hair cut the longer he wanted it. Finally one summer day a girl at the pool told him he would be cute if he had shorter hair...the next day he asked me to take him to get a hair cut!

Since he was a "Man" now I stayed in the car and let him go in on his own. BIG MISTAKE !

He came out styling a Mohawk with liberty spikes.

We let him keep it and for the first time he got up an hour early for school every day just to glue his spikes up and make sure his "Coif" was perfect.

No wonder I have so many lines on my face.

He is now seventeen...somewhat better and somewhat worse.

He has finally come into his own and started to realize his potential as an academic. He is the brightest kid I have and has refused til now to use his potential to his advantage...fighting authority figures and teachers every step of his skinny way .

He has had ups and downs...he has been in trouble a couple of times but has worked his own way back to normalcy (for a 17 year old boy.)

I once again enjoy being around him and take comfort in the fact that he ends every cell phone call to me with "I love you."

What more could you want from a child that has grown into young adulthood than still having them not only love you but TELL you every day?

Okay...two down and one to go.

UH OH !! The last one is a female.

God help me...

Til next time...COTTON

Be sure to click on each photo...