The Eagle has Landed

What a wonderful sense of relief, Caleb’s Eagle Scout Project is over and in my opinion, it went very well. He organized a private performance by Jason Hewlett (motivational speaker, comedian, and impressionist) for Hopekids, a support group we belong to for children with cancer and other life threatening illnesses.

While it didn't go off perfectly (miscommunication with the janitorial staff at the school we rented almost made this an outside event…eeek!), the performance made up for the glitches in a big way. The theme of the day was hope and finding your unique talents and gifts. There was plenty of laughing and singing along too.

We have learned a lot of things about Caleb through this process; he’s a procrastinator, doesn’t care much for details and is all about keeping things simple, he is not intimidated to speak to adults or in front of groups, he is cool under pressure and he takes problems in stride. We are so proud of our (almost) Eagle Scout.

Now, Clint and I have to follow through on a little promise we made… time to allow a certain young man to get his Driver’s Permit and practice, practice, practice.

Bookworm

book-worm
Pronunciation: \buk-werm
Function: noun
: a person unusually devoted to reading and study



Yesterday Caleb asked if I would run him to the library. This is his weekly/semi-weekly request (he has his library card number memorized and do you know our library allows patrons to check out up to 20 books at a time?). I dropped him off to run inside and then I had to drive around the side of the building to let Caitlin drop her books and DVD's into the little return slot. She gets a kick out of doing this. Cheap thrill I guess, not sure if it's the hanging out the car window or watching the books disappear as if by magic-she gets the same kick out of the moving sidewalks at the airport.

As we pulled up in front of the library again, here comes Caleb trying to balance books on both sides of his body. It looked really awkward and really funny. He's all legs and arms. I wanted to take a picture but wasn't fast enough. He got in the car and started looking through the books he'd reserved. On all his receipts there were little smiley faces. Caitlin's convinced there's a librarian with a serious crush.

Fifteen

Fifteen... is how old Caleb is today. It is also the number of years I have been a mother. Fifteen seems like a really big number tonight, but it has gone by way too quickly.

At 15, Caleb is pretty amazing. He is making good choices and good friends. He is learning the gospel and visits the temple at least once a month. He works hard in school, is on the high honor roll, and has big plans for his future. He is kind, patient, funny, and everything I could hope for in a son.

Fifteen is going to be a big year. Caleb will start driving, complete his project and become an Eagle Scout, he will participate in the National Scout Jamboree and travel to and around the East Coast for three weeks, and he will go to High School. It's enough to make his parents feel really old, but also very proud.

Happy Birthday, Caleb. We love you!