December 20, 1996, aka, the day the Charles Joseph turned zero. My little boy turns 15 today around 6pm. Beth has told him he would have to wait until 6:00 to get his present as that was his actual birth time, but he threatened to take away hugs for a month. He will be receiving his gift after his History final at 10:30. It is 8:00 now and CJ is in the middle of WWI, or The Depression, or The Roaring Twenties; but I gotta believe his brain is not all in. He has been waiting for his birthday present for months and today is the last day of finals before a nice long Winter break from school. If he can distinguish Herbert Hoover from a vacuum right now, I will be impressed.
His present is a new laptop. We did not go top-of-the-line as he really wanted, but we were dangerously close for awhile. Our original thought was that the computer we purchased now would be the one he takes off to college. Then it delta dawned on us that our current laptop is only a few years old and is already out-dated. College is too far away for this present to still be college worthy 4 years from now.
It is strange for someone my age to see technology advance so quickly now. Every time you turn around now there is a new Ipod, LED/3D television, or computer processor. I remember upgrading from the $1000 computer with the flux capacitor processor, to the Pentium to the Centrino to whatever there is now. When I was young, technological upgrades went from outdoor to indoor toilets for everyone. Calculators went from the desk top to your pocket. Photos popped right out of your camera and you shook them like a Polaroid Picture.
So, in two hours, my little boy is going to bust in the door, throw his hoodie on the floor, dump his shoes at the back door, leave his back pack in a pile in the dining room, take his socks off and leave them somewhere as yet undetermined, forage through the "hiding place" of his present, and start the disc back up process. He may never eat again.
I hope to eat one last supper with him by getting his favorite meal as carryout for tonight. We love an Indian restaurant near downtown called Ambar. Their Chicken Tikka and Chicken Tikka Masala are to die for. Yum! Perhaps if he does not eat, there will be more for me.
Therefore, I would like to take this time to wish my favorite kid a most Happiest Birthday. I have given you many nicknames over the years including:
- CJ Destructo-since you always delighted more in knocking the tower over than building it
- Charlie Joe-since you remind us of both your Grandpas at times
- Colby Jack-due to the "CJ" thing and your tremendous love of all things cheese
- Mayor McCheese-since your are a friend of the people and, the cheese thing
However, we continue to promise to never call you Charles, or Chuck, of CJoe, or late for dinner.
We also promise to continue to love you forever and to never forget the cute you even when you stop being so cute.
- I will always remember the infant who said the word "ham" while I was reading to him about Sam and his eggs.
- I will always remember the knock me over hugs you would give me when I would come home from work and you were a toddler.
- I will always remember you initiating hand holding with me and mom at Winton Woods as we walked along the lake.
- I will always remember the face you would make when someone would "gobble, gobble" at you around Thanksgiving.
- I will always remember you giggling when Cookie Monster would shake his whole self over your head.
- And, I will always remember you putting the cologne on your face while looking in the mirror and then screaming because it stung.
Hey, wait a minute!
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