Vince's Journey

Hard to believe that our oldest son, Judd, turns 18 today!

I remember November 3, 1988 like it was yesterday. In fact, Judd's birth was quite an adventure. He was born at 4:04 am but at one point it appeared he might make an earlier arrival when they lost his heartbeat and were close to delivering him through C-section. I remember when the heartbeat came back the doctor said, "We'll let the baby stay in there a little longer" and I was thinking, "The hell with that - get him/her out of there!" Then when he did arrive, they tried to rush things along and in the process, his collarbone was broken. A lot of excitement for the wee-hours of the morning. I can remember looking at him as he was sleeping in his crib at the hospital and thinking to myself, I wish there was a way he could stay a baby forever.

Of course, that was never going to happen, babies do grow up. Watching Judd grow up (along with his brother, Aaron, and sister, Abbey) has truly been a blessing. There are so many wonderful memories and I'm sure there are many more to come. I just can't believe how these 18 years have flown by.

Today, Judd is a senior at Moeller HS. He's 6'4", is interested in studying art in college and plays on the volleyball team. He's been away on a retreat all week and while things have been quiet around the house, we're looking forward to him coming home later today. I have to admit that I'm not looking forward to him heading off to college - I'm going to miss him. He has such an easy-going personality and he definitely keeps things light around the house.

So from this day forward, Judd will be considered a man. But in my heart, he'll always be my baby boy.

Happy Birthday, Judd...with love from 'Poppa'!