There wasn’t any doubt which Bulls jersey my son would wear to the game on Sunday vs the Grizzlies; #11 of course. Yeah, he was rocking the DeRozan signed jersey the day before he would turn “double ones” on April 3rd. Eleven years old… holy shit!
His birthday celebration has been going on for a minute. We had a little something for his classmates a week ago; he had another friend with a birthday who celebrated with Dave & Buster’s and a sleepover. We had family over all day this weekend; the Bulls game on Sunday. Finally, THE day… Yes, he had to go to school, where they celebrated again! He didn’t want to go though… who the heck would want to go to school on their birthday? I know I said I would never work on my birthday again a few years back; F that. My son wasn’t that lucky; from 8-3 he was “focused” on his schoolwork. When he came home, he would be greeted with a pile of gifts, followed by dinner of his choice, and another cake. It was quite the celebration to commemorate the last day of his eleventh year on this planet.
Having a kid of your own is nuts. All those years BEFORE I was a father… My childhood years where I had it pretty damn good. My school years… grammar school, high school, then college. My party years, my single years, my “do whatever the hell I want to” years. Each stage of life has been really, really good. Meeting my wife, our long and winding road, taking us across the country and even the world with our honeymoon, landing back in Chicago, starting our family… Life moves pretty fast. And now, a son!?!?! What the heck am I supposed to do???
There are still moments where we’re all “figuring it out”. Sitting at the table the other day, talking about being perfect… I told him there’s no such thing; neither you, mom, or me are perfect. We’ll all make mistakes; we’re all trying to do our best. I think that’s the key. Give it your all, with everything you do in life, but especially with your kid(s). I only have one, so the laser focus is definitely there; poor kid… he’s squarely in the sights of both my wife and I… haha. It’ll be interesting as he approaches the teenage years, at which point, I’ll ask myself again: what the heck am I supposed to do??? Haha…
For all the great times in my life, it continues to get better; that’s crazy in itself. The “better” changes over the years; what was good then, may not be good now, and vice versa. But man… life is good. I know there will be tough times ahead; I don’t look forward to those. But this boy… he’s something else. My wife and I always say he’s the best thing we’ve ever done together… no cap. He is pretty awesome. Happy birthday boy!
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