A Letter to my Son on his 11th Birthday! (Chase)

Dear Chase,

Happy 11th!

11. I don't know. It doesn't seem possible, yet it is.  You've always carried yourself with a certain maturity- an old soul you've been called time and again- and, recently the extra inch of growth and meat on your bones :) (55 inches and 73.6 pounds,) means you now look and act very much like tween that you are.  Whether I want to believe it or not.

We celebrated your birthday in many fun ways.  You went to camp and then after we went to see the opening day premiere of Spiderman Homecoming in the highest audio and video quality possible, thanks to Uncle Rob.  (Sidenote: Uncle Rob has a similar passion for both superheroes and technology as Ryder does.)  Quinn joined us for this movie as well as dinner.  We all loved it. The next day, after sleeping in (it's hard to be 11) and some swimming, we took a small handful of yours and Ryder's friends to Treehouse World, where you played Archery Tag (awesome!); Rock Climbed up very tall trees, and ran through a park filled with tree houses, swinging bridges, and rope swings.  It was a fun day.  Then, we had the usual suspects spend the night.  On Sunday, we celebrated your birthday and Pop-Pop's with the whole family.  It was wonderful.

Spiderman: Homecoming

Archery Tag

Since you were an infant, back when your large dimples were bigger than your preemie face, you've had a way of demanding our attention- without ever demanding. An infectious smile, a contagious laugh, and a magnetic charm have always drawn people to you, and still do. You are funny and clever and can be silly when you want to be but you also have a natural ability to carry on intelligent and meaningful conversations with anyone.  You can teach and explain to those you know more than and can contribute while learning when talking to adults.You present yourself as well-mannered, beguiling, and sagacious.  And, yes it is true, you are all of these things, so it makes us laugh (and sometimes pull our hair out) that you can be rather dense at times.  Completely unaware of what is going on around you, or not completely sure where you put your jacket or your shoes.  We joke you live in a Chase bubble, and in many ways it is true.  But it is not a selfishness that keeps you there, rather it is a sincere hyper-focus on the things that are important to you.  Whether it is your school work, your sports, your magic tricks, whatever it is, you want to be the very best at it and will work hard until you find a success with which you are satisfied.

At the very top of this list is hockey.  Your love for the sport goes beyond the game itself.  You want to play all of the time.  If you're not playing on the ice then it is on the street.  Or on the X-Box.  Or, watching others play it.  You want to get better.  You want to do great.  You want to win.  And, though you don't always get the W, you have been doing well and getting better each year with the sport.  This year, your second year playing on a club team, you were awarded with MVP of the team.  This made you so proud, as it did us.  But, even more than earning the MVP, your season was a highlight of the year, if not your hockey life, because you had great coaches who taught you the game, and a great team, where you made real friends and formed friendships that will last a lifetime, even if you are not teammates.  In addition to hockey, you still play baseball and guest play for your old soccer team any opportunity you have.  You love to compete and we love to watch you play.

You have a dynamic personality and are well-liked by your peers.  You tend to hold tight to your best friends and keep them close.  Ethan tops the list and falls in to the brother category.  Connor remains as your best friend since 2nd grade and the friendship you two have fostered is really wonderful.  Quinn may have started as a hockey friend but he has also become one of your very best friends and you work to maintain your friendship in spite of not going to school together.  As well as Luke, who your bond with hasn't dulled even though you are no longer teammates and go to different schools.  I am very proud of the friend that you are.  You are smart, and you are funny.  You can be silly or clever or witty and are always up for telling or hearing a good joke.  You are a good kid who likes to follow the rules (though not always at home) and though you're still learning the ropes of the world it is evident you want to be the best you can be while remaining humble and respectful to all.

Ethan

Connor

Connor and Ethan

Quinn and Luke

In school, as in most places, you have found so much success. Your 5th grade year with Mr. Benson was one of your favorites and Mr. Benson ranks as your favorite teacher.  You maintain very good grades and want to do well and most of it seems to come easy for you.  I hope you continue to thrive, continue to learn, and continue to succeed. At school, you were chosen by the teachers as part of the Conflict Mediator group (though I have yet to learn what you really do for this) and you were a part of Student Council on the Service team. You were in the 5th grade chorus and in the school play and stay involved with Richboro Elementary. You find many ways to succeed within the school walls.

Beyond sports your interests vary.  You like magic, and biking, and fishing.  You like to climb trees and play tag and shoot hoops.  You like to learn about crimes and solving them and you have a fascination for storms.  You scour YouTube for pranks, and for jokes, and for puzzles and riddles and enjoy trying to solve them.  Your favorite TV shows are Survivor and America's Got Talent and you are always up for a good comedy like the Goldbergs.  You like 21 Pilots and a lot of the pop songs on the radio but music is not your real passion.  Instead, you focus on the Flyers!  The Eagles, Phillies, and Sixers can hold your interest as well.  You like to be connected to things that are going on amongst your peers and you always seem to have one ear listening to the adult conversations around you.


This year we celebrated Delaney's bat mitzvah.  This year you had your first camping trips, the first being with Ethan and Ryder and GP, the second two being with our family and some friends.  You went on journeys on your bike, through Tyler and the neighborhood, and fishing trips that lasted all day long.

Delaney's Bat Mitzvah

In the tent on the first camping trip

Your tenth year was an overall great year, you've grown and matured and are really becoming quite the gentleman. Our life gets a bit hectic, and we are all trying to manage an abundance of different personalities.  Sometimes we disagree and that is ok and,since you are a master negotiator, your point of view often carries a lot of weight.  I know we often expect a lot from you but, Chase, we do not expect more than you can handle.  In fact, we could probably demand more and get it.  Because your capabilities are beyond even what you realize.  Your talents are still being uncovered. Chase, I am your biggest supporter.  If I am pushing you it is because I know you can do it and I believe in everything you can be.  You are kind, you are smart, you are funny, and you're talented.  Use your strengths to do good in the world, lead by example, and set forth towards positive things.  I am always proud of everything that you are and my belief in you is limitless for everything and anything that you want to do or be. I hope you know that in my moments with you, the conversations that we have, the laughs that we share, the games that we play,  along with these same moments with your brothers and daddy, are the most cherished moments in my life.  I am so very proud that you're my son.
Happy 11th birthday, Chase!  I love you so.

10th birthday letter

In the tent on our first camping trip

Wildwood

Beach Blast medal winners

Brothers

Boulder Field

Happy birthday to my favorite twins

Growing in to the birthday shirt

birthday interview

I'm 42 and This is My Birthday Letter

Somehow it is time for another birthday.  It doesn't come with too much emotion as 42 in and of itself offers about as much excitement as 41 did.  It does, however, come with a slight tinge of stress in knowing I have to carve out time to write another birthday letter:)  Another to-do, sigh!

I would say that, overall, life is on an incline.  It may be slight, and it may be gradual, but I probably couldn't handle it any faster or steeper anyway.

This past year I devoted a lot of time, A LOT OF TIME, to studying for the Series 6 exam.  It was a lesson in time management as well as in Securities.  I passed on my first try.  I never imagined this is where I would find myself in terms of a career but an opportunity presented itself and I decided to act on it.  I am happy I did. I like my job and welcome the idea of doing more, being more, having more.  As a result, I have been working a lot more this past year and I have been enjoying carving out this little piece of the world just for me.  Although the longer days make for more complicated early evenings, I do enjoy working and building towards something that I am earning, however small it may be.

We are kept ever so busy by the boys' lives.  Between the sports, and the activities, and the parties, and the sleepovers, there is very little downtime.  There is very little quiet.  Although I do get a bit frustrated by the volume at which everyone seems to exist, I do enjoy the noise- the signs of life and happiness- that fill my house and my ears.  And, though the schedule is not one for the faint at heart, I absolutely love watching the boys play their sports, play with their friends, and develop their personalities.

Todd and I have been going out socially much more often and it has been good for us.  We are social beings and it is helping us to find a balance by having some time that belongs to us and some more time together.

As my early 40's settle in to itself,  I have acclimated to this stage of my life with acceptance (even if I am in a bit of denial about the number!)   Each stage of life has its own unique qualities that define it.  This stage, being Mom first, and everything else second, is as fleeting as all of the other stages that are already passed and are missed.  I know this, and so I embrace it, endearingly, each for what they are, and for the mark they are making on my life, on my memory.  Moments in life are defined by the factors that surround it and, more importantly, the people that surround you.  Every birthday letter I write indicates how similar things are and,yet, how different.  Changes are fluid, albeit slow. Times are high, times are low, and strength seems to come disguised as pain.  I have learned that when you look back, the tough times were not so bad, and even if they were, you usually can't remember. And, you survived.  And, here you are.  And, the high times were there too, all along.  If you don't stop, take a breath, and look around yourself every now and again, you could miss it.  All of it. You could miss that ephemeral moment of magic that didn't seem to be quite what it was until it was in the rear-view mirror.  The magic of your toddler's laughter that is sandwiched between too many dirty diapers and crib jumpings.  The magic of your tween's smile and his confession of needing you wedged tightly between his stubbornness and his attitude.  The magic of your sons thoughtfulness hidden amongst his persistent whine. The magic of your husband's touch as you pass each other, hectically, in opposite directions.  The magic of love that bounces off the deafening sounds and fills the room.   I don't want to miss the magic, so I follow the flow of the moments I am presented with and do my best to be the best I can be on any given day.

Over the years it seems that the core of who I am has gotten a little blurred by the clouds of stress and life.  Either that or age has changed me.  Perhaps it is both.  But, when I close my eyes and not try to see it but, instead,to feel it, it can all become quite clear.  And, I should enjoy it while it is clear, because it may not always be.

The weekend was a fun start to what I hope is a great year.  Friday night, though not birthday related, we had a great night out enjoying a cooking demonstration with great friends.  I love cooking demonstrations, and the company, and unlimited wine.  It was a blast.

Saturday, my actual birthday, began with my FREE birthday reward at Starbucks (yay!) followed by an afternoon in New Hope with Stacie and Joe.

 We went to a charming place called Nektar which managed to have all of my requirements: outdoor seating (in this case, overlooking the river), small plates menu, and good drinks.  A flight of wine and a few small plates and I was a happy girl; not to mention the incalculable laughs that we've grown accustomed to having when we are with the Morena's.  After, we walked to Havana.  There we soaked in the sun while sipping on a cocktail and sharing wings. Then, we strolled some more, hit some of the New Hope stores and the chocolate shop before heading home to watch Ryder play lacrosse followed by Chase playing baseball. It was a fun day. Very fun.

On Sunday, after an enjoyable morning at Annette's bridal shower, we watched more baseball and more lacrosse before enjoying our annual birthday hibachi and cake with the boys.

Leyela, Sophia, and Lily in awe of the beaming bride to be

Cousins, and sisters, at Annette's shower

cake after hibachi with my favorite boys

Unfortunately, we did not get to celebrate with the families, as our weekend was jam packed but, hopefully, we will celebrate all of the good things these last few weeks have brought us on Mother's Day.

Read my 41st birthday letter