A Great Birthday Party and Present : 10 Years Ago

It's my husband's birthday.

Ten years ago I threw him a great party to celebrate.   It wasn't elaborate and thank goodness the weather cooperated because we held it outside in our backyard.  I just invited a whole bunch of his friends over for an afternoon of food, drink, music and conversation.  It was a great day because we had friends and relatives from all over drop by.    Even though it was a Saturday in summer, my mother drove up from the shore (who does that) and his parents and grandfather drove in from Pennsylvania.  Good friends drove up for the weekend from Maryland and friends from the city bused into our suburb.  It was a wonderful blend of people

It was a time to mark a new decade in his life.  And what a decade it was to be!

Our previous ten years together (9 if you want to count officially the years we were married at the time), had a different focus.  As of July 2005 we were closing the door on the two of us and opening the one that would make us a family of three.  We had only found out about the possibility of becoming three in April and James' impending birth was scheduled for some time at the end of July or early August.  (Originally his arrive was "scheduled" for August 2nd, but then things looked like they might happen faster and I was emailing guests to tell them there might have to be a last minute change.)  So it should come as no surprise that most of my husband's birthday gifts that year were baby related.  Officially it was a birthday party, but gift-wise it looked more like a baby shower.  And that was fine by my husband who was embracing his impending new role as stay-at-home daddy.  How many men would be thrilled if their mother-in-law gave them a bib for their birthday?

It was a memorable day and party.  One that I will never be able to top, so I won't even try.  Although my husband says it was a great party, the best birthday gift he got came 13 days later, when our son, James was born.  Holding that tiny baby in his arms, he entered a new phase of his life.  He became the great dad that I knew he was meant to be.

Today he enters another new decade, as well as another new phase in his life.  In just 13 days he'll be a dad to a son also in the "double digits" (which I guess qualifies him as a "tween.")  He spent ten years being a daddy and helping a little boy grow; now he's entering the "dad" phase where he will continue to encourage our son to be the best young man he can be.  I'm a proud mom and a big reason that our son has turned out so well (thus far) is a direct result of what my husband has taught him.

So Happy Birthday!  Welcome to a new decade!  Don't grumble or groan; but embrace it!  Know that you have shaped a child's life over the past 10 years and you will only continue to enhance it in the decade(s) to come.