21!?!?

My baby boy turned 21 earlier this week. Wait a minute . . . 21?!?! That can't be right. Let's see . . . born in 1989 . . . yep, 21. Where did the time go? It doesn't really feel like "just yesterday" that he was born, I mean after all, there has been lot of water under the bridge since then. However, I really can't believe that it has been 21 years. You know, they say that time flies when you are having fun and it really does. And, we have had fun.

I have enjoyed each and every stage/age. From newborn -- snuggling on the sofa for hours - how I loved that. To toddler -- falling in love even more with every new "trick" and accomplishment. Then school and sports, becoming more and more independent each day.

One day, when my boy was 3 0r 4 years old I was thinking of how fast he was growing and how much he could already do for himself without my help. It broke me heart! I started crying just thinking about how one day in the future, he wouldn't need me anymore. And, perish the thought, would move out and away from me. My beloved asked me what was wrong and I blubbered my sad tale. He laughed and tried to cheer me up by reminding me that that day was in the far, distant future.

Well, I hate to tell him that that day has arrived. And, it didn't take very long for it to get here, either. No, my boy isn't moving away just yet, but he is a grown man now. The funny thing is . . . he still seems to need my beloved and me. Certainly not in the same ways he did when he was a baby or a boy. But, then again, I still need my parents. I guess you never really outgrow them.