Birthday Dinner

Last night we celebrated David's 30th birthday. Jon, Anya, Adam, Ella, John, and three of David's closet friends, Bradford, Kellen and Sarah, met at a restaurant called A Different Point of View for a four course meal to celebrate. The venue was fantastic! Once I got over the fear of driving up the steepest, narrowest, and most winding drive I have ever driven, the views of Phoenix were absolutely fantastic!

David's friends were great! This is the first time family and friends got to meet each other. Although we were all tentative at first, things loosened quickly and soon conversation was moving along and laughter followed. We all told stories and reminisced. Even Jon participated in the conversation, which is unusual for him. He usually just likes to observe.

We talked about David's Pee Wee Herman phase, Michael Jackson dance moves, and more. Kellen was quiet, but was very quick to get updates out to those in their group on FaceBook for the more humorous tidbits!

John and Ella were outstanding. This was a four star restaurant and they lasted through a three hour meal with no outbursts, tantrums, twitches or tiffs! No one could expect more of those two. John is starting to get to the age where he pays attention to what the adults say if the topic is interesting and he was riveted to the stories of David's early years attempts to lie and deceive his mother! They were nothing more than the usual growing up stuff and David told how I caught him more than once and John just took it all in.

I told the story of being at the laundromat at that very time, thirty years prior, timing contractions and washing clothes. At the same time, I pondered the man in front of me and thought back to that time just before he was born. Never in my wildest imagination could I have conceived that the spark of life so long ago would mature into the man before me. It also caused me to think that it truly had seemed like yesterday when he was a newborn in my arms! Time does fly.

At the end of the table was my baby, Anya, holding her baby, Ella, and I saw a fantastic woman. I saw someone that was so strong, caring and compassionate that I could only dream to be that wonderful. And my second son, Adam. A great man and a wonderful addition to our family. Life has been challenging, but the rewards were at that table last night and I am so thankful.

Happy Birthday, David!