Happy 16th Birthday Cameron!

Today’s posting requires two photos. The first photo was taken of Cameron and our friends’ dog, Roxanne, in 1997 when Cameron was three and Roxanne was their newly acquired puppy. The second photo was taken 12 years later at the end of last summer. Look at how much they have grown and changed. Poor Rox, she’s about 84 in dog years, and her sweet brown face has gone white with age. Unfortunately, for Roxanne, she got off to a rough start when one of her owners (Mike Meyer!) accidentally ran over her while backing out of the driveway. Luckily, as you can see, she survived the incident.

Fortunately, for Cam, he got off to a much better start. We only allowed him to lick chlorine tablets and swing a golf club in the house, which caused shattered glass from a broken picture frame to fall down and slice his toe open (requiring stitches). Not bad, really, considering that Cameron has always been our little “envelope pusher” and dare devil.

At four he was riding a two-wheeler. At five he was playing organized roller hockey, and at seven he mastered down hill skiing, without the use of poles, because who needs poles when your center of gravity is only two and a half feet off the ground? At nine he gave surfing a go when we went to Hawaii on a family vacation. That’s probably why he switched to snowboarding. At 10, he took up the violin and is still going strong in the high school orchestra, after having completed three years at the middle school level. At 15 he started playing organized football for the first time ever in his life. What he lacked in physical stature, he more than made up for with hard work, determination, and commitment.

While I’m watching him play the violin in concert with those long, lean fingers, I think to myself “Who is this boy that can read music and play so beautifully, but can’t clean his room or remember to put the toilet seat down? How does that work?”

Oh Cameron, you are a funny, funny boy. You’ve got a wicked sense of humor, however some times it gets you into trouble. Remember when you hid behind dad’s easy chair and scared the bejesus out of him. He was so mad. But, we got more of a laugh out of him trying to be mad than scared. Dad doesn’t do mad nearly as well as mom, right? Remember when you put baloney in my CD drawer and I started to smell something funny and wondered what it was? Remember when Alex was trying to be a hard-ass by smashing the bedroom door up against the wall (and you just happened to be in between the two) and you accidentally popped him in the nose? That was funny, mainly because you thought you were going to be in trouble, and instead we yelled at Alex for being a bully. Remember when you told our new neighbors that you had a baby brother that lived in the basement? Remember in fifth grade when out of the blue you said you were running for student council president and I thought "sure you are" and then you won! Shame on me. Remember when I made that bet with you last week that Bode Miller would win the gold and unbeknownst to you, the race had happened hours earlier and the results were already reported? Shame on you! That was a good one, until dad told Alex to text you that it was a set up.

I can’t believe you are already 16 years old. So grown up, and so....not. The time has absolutely flown by and yet it seems like an eternity since you were born. I'm thrilled that you have matured into a wonderful young man, and yet not ready for my baby to be a young man, mainly because that makes me an old woman. Don't forget, Cameron, everything I expect from you is because I love you. If I didn't think you could do it, I wouldn't expect it. Continue to strive for excellence and don't settle for average. Keep working hard at school and sports like you have been doing this year, and don't look for the easy way out. This doesn't mean life has to be difficult, just challenging, so at the end of the day you can feel proud about what you have accomplished. Today, you should feel proud. I know I do. Now go clean your room!