Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Happy Birthday!

Okay, so November is a really BUSY month for our family - beyond the holidays and the changing of weather patterns. Last week was my Dad's birthday, yesterday Dr. Doolittle turned 12 and today is Li'l Sis's birthday. I'm still sick (now it's a sinus infection!), I'm running behind, but I must pause to acknowledge these important people in my life. After all, the people are what keep me going and doing all that my "To Do" list dictates that I do. What good is a "To Do" list if what I'm doing isn't for and about the ones that I love the most? The next two posts are dedicated to honoring Dr. D and Li'l Sis. I hope you hang in with me to share the joy that they bring to my life - and yours if you are blessed enough to know them!

Dr. Doolittle is 12 now. He's my "brown-eyed boy" and the family joker. (I always wanted a brown-eyed son, since I was in high school!) He's always got a funny story or a joke or a prank to play and most of the time keeps us laughing. He's sweet with little ones, so tender and caring that they are drawn to him and his antics immediately. He's crazy about the Eagles and a loyal fan even when they are driving the rest of us to complete frustration. Dr. D is hopelessly optimistic that "this might be the big play," and I love that about him! He's our resident nature lover and devours non-fiction books like they are candy bars for his brain. Sometimes we look up random crazy facts about exotic animals just to try and stump him with a question, but he's way ahead of us - he knows the most bizarre facts about the most bizarre animals. He's recently taken up photography, and is thinking about becoming a wildlife photographer someday. I often tease him that I don't want him to graduate because I may never get him back from the remote jungles of the world after that.

Beyond all these interesting and fun personality traits, I see in Dr. D a caring and tender heart for Jesus. He takes great pleasure in the simplest things about the world around him - thrilling over the sound of a wild turkey calling across the woods at Grandma and Grandpa's mountain home, cracking himself up over the crazy characters he makes up to entertain us all, wonder and awe at the sight of the huge turtles at the Aquarium or the hawk and woodpeckers that live in the gully behind our house. This joy in simplicity is a quality that I admire and desire to emulate. It's something that many of us love about Dr. Doolittle - I think that's because many of us have lost that child-like faith and awe somewhere along the way. Dr. D makes me stop and remember that the creation that makes him drop his jaw in wonder should make me pause too.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Doolittle. You are an incredibly important part of this family - you make us all laugh and remember to stop and enjoy the little things in life along the way. Don't lose that child-like exuberance for the world you are in - we all need that. We all need you and are so grateful to Jesus that He chose US to be your family. You are special and you are unique. Even if you do leave your socks laying all over the house when your feet get hot :)

5 comments:

Krazy Klingers said...

What a great birthday tribute to your son!

heidi @ ggip said...

Sounds like another person who would beat me at all those trivia games! He sounds delightful. Happy Birthday!

Melissa said...

He is so blessed to have you as a mom! It's obvious you help to nurture those gifts in his life while being his biggest cheerleader! All this while lovingly navigating those middle school years, which I'm discovering, can be a real roller coaster ride!

Good job, Mom! And, Happy Birthday Dr. D. You're totally radical, Dude! (That's me making fun of him making fun of us!).

Marie said...

That was so fun to read! I didn't know he liked photography. It can be so fun, sometimes I see pictures everywhere. :)

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday Dr. D!!

There are some kids that we might think are good kids but with Dr. D. he is the kid that we want our kids to be friends with, he is someone they can look up to and should. He is strong, smart, and kind. He is someone that we should all strive to be. You go Dr. D. and lookout world because he is right on your tail!!