18

We celebrate another birthday here in the Den today and it is kind of a big one. The Boy has turned 18. He is now, as has been his wont over the last several days to remind us, a legal adult. It hardly seems possible that he's 18! I'm not going to lament how quickly time has passed or how it seems just yesterday that he was a baby (even though it did). The funny thing is that his nephew, Benson, is his spitting image and every time we see him, it's like seeing The Boy when he was a baby.

Here we are, though, eighteen years later and The Boy continues to grow into his life as a young man. I am so fortunate as his father to see him at this point in his life. He has brought us, like his sisters before him, an immeasurable amount of joy. He has also brought us a ridiculous amount of laughter, nearly every day.

He's entering a crossroads now. He's in his senior year of high school. In a few months, his college applications will be in, and shortly thereafter, papers for a mission. A year from now, he could be gone, celebrating his birthday in a distant country. I'm excited to see where he'll be and I'm praying now, as he prepares for this next phase of his life, that he'll be ready for what awaits him. I know he will.

In the eyes of the law, The Boy became an adult man today. In my eyes, he's the finest of young men. Happy birthday, son. It s an honor to be your Dad.