Yesterday was my son's birthday. I spent part of the day reflecting upon the day he was born. It was a record setting summer in Kansas that year. For June, July and August, the high temperatures were over 100 more often than not. There were a number of days when the high reached 105 or more. For those same months, the rainfall was limited to non-existent.

The day started out fairly warm. However the sky clouded up and by around noon it was threatening to rain. The threats were not empty and by the time my son was born, we were receiving a nice little rain storm. That rain storm broke the heat wave.

My son was born about 10 days early and without complications. He has been a joy throughout his life and has since grown into a wonderful young man that I am really proud of.

Returning Home

My son has been accepted to a Ph.D. program with one of the top colleges in his field of study. Being the supportive mother, or maybe more to the point, wanting to be there for my son; I helped him move from Emporia, Kansas to Miami, Florida. The move in itself was an experience; but that is another story.

After being gone for over a week, I returned home ready to enjoy a quiet day before heading back to work. I had hired a pet sitter to take care of Charlie and Joey. While I had hired a pet sitter in the past, the longest I had been gone was for five days. This was also the first time that I had been gone that long since Joey came to live with us.

I was expecting some indifference from both of the boys. After all in the past they have always given me that “cold shoulder” to shown their displeasure for being left alone. I also expected that Joey would be distant and distrustful again. To my surprise, neither Charlie nor Joey has left me alone since I have gotten home. The minute I sit down, one or the other wants to crawl into my lap. They both follow me from room to room. I don’t know if it is because they missed me, if it is because they didn’t like being alone for that long or what.

So a week has passed since I have returned home. Both still are my constant shadow. Ah, it is nice to be loved…or whatever it is called…