Cody, You will never know how much I love you. Love isn’t easy to put into words, especially a mother’s love, the depth of which is unfathomable. The time has come for my window of influence to close and it will soon be time for you to stand strong and make your own footprints in this world. To me, it seems as if it was only yesterday that you were crawling, learning to talk and walk. All of these steps toward your independence that we have been chasing ever since. Cody, I hope one day you will forgive me for loving you so much that I tried to carry you…even when it was best that you walked by yourself. When I look at you now, tall and strong, I don’t just see an eighteen-year-old man, I see you in all of your life’s stages at once. I see you as a newborn in my arms in the shadows of midnight, a blur of blonde hair racing down the stairs in Barney pajamas on Christmas morning, the red shirt and blue jean shorts worn by my kindergarten son and the little boy that wore his dads Army uniform in an effort to keep him from deploying overseas. As much as a mother raises her son, so does a son raise his mother. You have taught me many things as I have watched you grow. From you I have learned the power of a tender heart as I have witnessed your quiet kindness to others all of your life. Your teachers throughout grade school always remarked about your concern for the feelings of other children. You attract friends wherever you go, and you are loyal to them. You taught me how to find joy in the moment. You have the gift of turning the mundane into amusement. You see subtext and comic irony in the world around you. Your wry humor is a constant source of delight that lightens our days. It reminds us to relax and not take everything so seriously. You taught me about courage. Being the child of a deployed soldier wasn’t easy but you did it with such grace and courage. You navigated that time with elegance, courage, acceptance, and again humor, when all else failed. It has been remarkable to watch. You are stronger than you know. You have a natural tenacity and ability to accept life as it unfolds. This is a skill that will serve you well in the years to come, because life is about transformation, a decades long process of becoming. There are chapters, but no destinations. And if you are able to visualize each stage as having a beginning, middle, and end it will be easier to recognize God’s plan for you as He chooses to reveal it. His plan is rarely the same one that we envision for ourselves, so, in the years to come, as you are surprised or sidelined unexpectedly or sent in directions unanticipated; remember that it is unfolding as it should be. That’s when you will appreciate your already sharpened abilities to navigate change. Each chapter has a specific lesson that God, in His all-knowing wisdom, sees that you must learn. Painful chapters draw us near to Him, and joyful chapters illuminate the glory and wonder of our world. Both are important. Cody, you are the son that every mother dreams of having. I could not be more thankful for you and proud of the man you have become. Your character and integrity are important to you. You are finding your voice and moving forward in positions of leadership. God will rely on you to use that leadership to model the qualities of a good, honest and loving man. A faith journey is a daily one. It is vital to see our moral choices, both grave and not, as turning points. Your choices will lead you closer to God or further from Him. Lead you down a path toward a peaceful heart or a troubled one. No choice is made in secret as God is always with you. Choose wisely and you will live without regret, because real and lasting happiness has nothing to do with material possessions, it is a result of living your values, even when it is difficult. Even when choosing to stand for what is right means that you will lose friends or perhaps a job. I am so excited for you to embrace this next phase of life. I am in your corner, your loudest cheerleader, and proudest mom at RWHS. Love ya to the moon & back & twice around the stars, Mom
Posted on: Fri, 30 May 2014 18:21:14 +0000
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