Happy Birthday, Pay-Pay

Today, July 8th is my son's eighth birthday. This is, as he learned from his sister's tenth birthday a few years ago, his golden birthday. That's the one where you turn the same age as the date of your birth.

I think he's had a pretty good day for an eight year old. He got to sleep in a bit, got cinnamon and sugar toast and a big glass of orange juice for breakfast, got an early birthday call from Grandma, and headed off to school to talk about his birthday (all day, I'm sure) with his classmates.

Then he came home, got another birthday call from Mamaw and Papaw, and opened his first present (we're saving the rest for the party with his friends and the extended family) and unwrapped the Lego Indiana Jones Playstation game.

And there was much rejoicing.

Then Kirk made his birthday cake, and Payton got to decorate it however he wanted. I didn't help with the baking, but I helped with the decorating. Later, he got pizza and soda for dinner - all the while playing the new Playstation game.

At the end of the day, he got a birthday call from Aunt Kelly in New York (New Jersey) which tickled him to no end. I think he talked to her for over a half an hour.

He finally went to bed at 10p.m. and fell asleep just after the sugar crash.

He was our surprise baby, no doubt. Katie was three when we began the "should we have another kid" talks. Soon after those talks began, God or Fate or The Universe said ... "Here." That silenced all our debates - we were expecting our second child.

He was a very easy pregnancy - except for the ravenous cravings for Del Taco and Peanut M&M's that I dealt with. I soon learned that his sister and he had totally different movements in the womb ... she was graceful and tai chi-like, he was short, staccato-like punches. I knew from the first moments of confirmed conception that she was a girl, and later, that he was a boy. It wasn't just their movements from later on ... right at the start - I just knew.

I worked right up until the day before his birth. I felt great, and had that spontaneous energy burst that tells you that something's about to happen. I picked Katie up after work on Friday, and after being home for a few hours, realized I was having early contractions. Katie and I walked the neighborhood for a while until Kirk got home from work. I had plenty of time to check and re-pack my bag, call the grandparents, call the hospital, and call my doctor.

We got to the hospital after dropping Katie off, and the next few hours were spent roaming the labor ward hallways, joking with the nurses, and watching T.V. in my room while waiting for the labor to get serious. I clearly remember watching the video for Metallica's song "I Disappear" from the Mission Impossible soundtrack about 10 times. I adore Metallica and that put in me in a very happy mood. The hard-rock soundtrack that accompanied the laboring for his birth could very well explain his current constant level-10 energy, though.

He was born near noon on Saturday. His birth was so easy. I think I "pushed" three times. My wonderful doctor, who had saved my life (literally) after an ectopic pregnancy a few years before and delivered our daughter in 1996 was fantastic. With a smile on his face, he told Kirk, "I'm tired. I delivered your last kid. You do this one." And Kirk did. Dr. T. was right next to him; instructing and guiding him.

So the first hands to touch my son in this world were the sturdy, dependable hands of his own father.

Over the last few years, we have learned quite a bit about this unique boy. He has the physical body-sense of his football-playing father, and the obsessive-compulsiveness of his mother. He's as whip-smart as his big sister - but he has a curious, unique view and observation of the world around him that gives all the grown-ups pause. He loves dinosaurs, bugs, archeology, cartoons, candy, camping, swimming and the beach.

He's gentle and loving, rowdy and blunt, sensitive and obtuse, and much, much too witty and smart for an eight year old boy.

Happy Birthday, Payton. We all love you so very much, and are all so glad you showed up to become a part of this family. We wouldn't be complete without you.

I love you! - Momo