Happy Birthday, Lee!

Today is my son Lee's birthday.  I'm taking my daughter Amy's idea and writing an open letter to him.

Dear Lee, thank you for being in my life.  When you were born, it was like an early Christmas present.  The day that I found out that you were going to be born in December, I said to your dad that we would have another deduction on our income taxes for that year.  You were a good baby.  You always played quietly by yourself with your toy soldiers and Star Wars characters.

My life has been more interesting and loving because you are in it.  You like to give and receive hugs.  I like that because you always let me hug you when I want to. 

You are a generous person.  You help your friends out whenever they need something--be it a place to sleep temporarily, help moving, or a ride somewhere. 

You are a fun uncle, always playing with your nieces.  They love you to come around and jump on you when they first see you.  I love listening to them laugh and say, "Unca Lee!" 

You tell the funniest jokes.  You are so upbeat that I feel better just being around you.

You seem to happy with yourself.  When I think about you, I realize that I should enjoy what I have (material and otherwise) and not worry about what I don't have.  You have the self-confidence that your dad and I worked to give you when you were growing up.  I feel that we have succeeded.

I took forward to living near you so that we can spend more time together.  I can't wait until we take some art classes together, go to the art museums, and go to yard sales.  Maybe we can hear your band play because we won't have to get up early the next day because we'll be retired.  You can come over to our house and hang out even if it is for a short period of time (or a long time).

Happy birthday, Lee!  I love you with all my heart!  Love, Mom