Celebrating a Life

Son, you outgrew my lap,

but never my heart.

Unknown

When we have more than one child, we wonder how we will ever have enough love for each one.  Somehow, love just appears.  We may love each child differently, but amazingly love abounds.

Today, May 10th is the birthday of my second son.  He was the most difficult child to raise out of four.  Outside of our family, adults viewed him as quiet and shy without ever smiling.  Inside our home, the child bounced off the walls tormenting all of us. Once he learned to channel his high level of energy, he began to accomplish wonderful things.  

My love for Ryan was different in that it required more patience and understanding.  His off the wall unexpected insights always caught me by surprise.  His observations and assessments were always perceptive.

Unlike his older brother who knew everyone under the sun, Ryan held few people close.  Once you were his friend, however, his loyalty and trust were admirable.  I loved this child from some deep source in my soul.

As a baby and toddler, people would say things like, "I bet he hears everything with those big ears," or "I bet he doesn't miss anything with those huge eyes!"  In time, Ryan grew into his features and became a very nice looking man.

By college, he left athletics behind him and became determined to graduate even though he had to work full time.  He would some how manage to slip home to rekindle his unspoken love for his younger brother and sister.  He made the house come alive with his sarcastic humor and trickery.

He reflected a strong ego, but it was obvious that he used it as a defense mechanism.  I knew he had fallen in love when he came home one Christmas and told me, "I have met a girl who is smarter than me."  He is married to a beautiful and industrious woman and together they have two wonderful children.

Ryan has been exceptionally successful in his work and has been very generous with family, friends, and employees.  I am proud of him and admire him.  No matter how much time passes between visits, we immediately connect wherever we had left off.  My bond with him has been strangely secured in other life times and I know our energies will stretch beyond human boundaries and star studded skies.

Thank you, Ryan.  Thank you for being such a wonderful son and for loving me through thick and thin.