Thoughts ... and a Birthday

Well, Max and I finally took the Strengths Finder test online. Now, I have to figure everything out by reading the book. HOWEVER! They tell you your 5 top themes. I'm now a little bit afraid. Out of 33 themes listed we share 4 of them. Ok, I'm actually either a little bit afraid because we are so similar, or this absolutely assures me that we were meant to be together. No wonder we are so comfortable. And the 1 other theme that we differ on, is what makes it fun.

There wasn't much surprising for us ... at least not for me. My strengths lie in learning and in how I relate to people. Max's lie in learning - his dependency on history is what fascinates me.

That's enough of that. At least until I have more time to figure out what I'm going to do with that bit of information.

Tomorrow is Matthew's birthday. He'll be 18. Matt was the first born in our family. I remember the night he was born. Jim and Janet lived in Denver. Jim called me about 10:00 pm to tell me that they were heading to the hospital. I fell asleep and woke up to the telephone ringing after 2:00 am. Matthew had been born. There was a little stress because of a staff infection, but our boy was here!

I cried.

And those tears made my brother awfully happy. Mom had died 2 1/2 years prior and his words to me were "I knew you'd cry. Mom would have cried, so I had to call to hear you cry." Yup ... I cried.

For my 30th birthday, I drove to Denver and spent a nice long weekend holding a brand new baby. I loved every minute of it! To know me is to know that statement is insane. I'm so NOT a baby person. I avoid holding babies. My good friends know enough to not force their babies on me. About the time the child turns 3, I start having a really good time. But, with Matthew, it was really different. I looked into that tiny little face and realized that I was seeing everyone that I loved. He was absolutely beautiful. I changed a few diapers (not something I'm terribly familiar with), snuggled with him, played with him (oh, the poor boy has weird baby pictures because his father and mother and I posed him - it was fun!).

I smile this evening when I think of Matthew. He has turned into an amazing young man. Amazing! He's exciting to talk to. He's sensitive to people around him. He's intelligent. He's got amazing spiritual depth. He has NEVER gone through the adolescent stage of being embarrassed by physical affection from his aunts. He craves that attention (so do his siblings - it's a fun family!).

Happy Birthday Matthew ... I love you, I love you, I love you!