Imagine....

Yesterday was my oldest son Zachary's 13th birthday!! It turned out to be a wonderful day for all as all their birthdays should be and have been! The "Birthday Boy" always has his choice of places to eat and then his choice of activities...to a certain extent. First we had to pick up his cake, had to be Star Wars...and Darth Vader (hey didn't I marry his sister?...no wait!....her maiden name was Borden!) We then went to eat at Apollo Flame Bistro (his choice, and an excellent one I might add! I had their spinach lasagna with a Greek salad and the boys both had chicken and mushroom subs. The activity chosen by Zak was bowling! Just what a disabled man with joint problems needs....but we went, I tried to make the best of it....enjoyed it but paid dearly for it! Next he wanted to go to a store in the Asheville Mall where he could spend his birthday money on "cool clothes" (I used to know what cool clothes were but I have been told that I no longer have a concept of what is cool!) Strangely enough the cool clothes he bought closely resembled clothes of the type I wore earlier in life when I thought I was cool. Even his hairstyle looks like the "cool" hairstyle I once sported when I was a teenager and still had hair...or at least lots of it...lol! The bowling trip had left me nearly a hopeless cripple and for once in her life my ex-wife called at just the right moment asking what we were going to do because she and her mama wanted to take Zak out to eat and give him his present! I told her what we had done so far and seizing the moment I asked her that since they were taking Zak out, why didn't they just come take him to that store in the mall and let him spend his money....that way I could go home and take care of Lennon and the dog. She said that she would talk to her mother and see....but knowing how she does things...I called her mom myself to see if they would...Her mom said they would be by to get him within the hour so I started looking for my pain medicine. After they took him there I received a phone call telling me that "Daddy, I want to come home and eat with you and Lennon!"....I know what that means!...(Daddy I bought a couple of playstation 2 games also and I really want to come home and play them!). His mother complained that since he wanted to come home he had an attitude. I got him back on the phone and told his newly 13 year old person that he was going to smile....turn to his mother...(while I held the phone) and say "I'd love to go to eat with you!" or when he got home I'd take everything he bought and lock it up until his attitude improved for an extended period!...To make this short and sweet....he had a happy birthday and when he arrived home later (after eating) he said that it had been a great day!...Glad he saw it my way for a change....I had fun too!...Love to all!..Jeff