Ode To My Firstborn Son

It seems just yesterday that I held you in my arms
Your tiny head nestled against my breast
While you tried to find some nourishment.

But before I knew it you were going to school
Even though you had just turned five,
And you walked so proudly to the bus.

By second grade I knew you were a handful
For the teachers sent notes home
Telling me that your behavior could improve.

By your high school years phone calls
From the school were frequent
With more messages of inappropriate behavior.

Somehow, you graduated and were married
Within a few years, thus presenting me
With four beautiful grandchildren.

You had become a man, a husband and father
In such a short period of time
That it seemed to have flown by.

Then came the break-up of your marriage
Bringing me to tears with what you went through
While building a new life for yourself.

A second marriage, taking on a new family
Included three step childen and grandchildren
for you,making me great grandma.

Now you have some gray hair just like me
But the same prankish characteristics
Sometimes come to the forefront.

Today you are celebrating 48 years
Leaving me to wonder
Where those years have gone.

I look at you with amazement and pride
Thinking about all the memories we have shared
Our lives separated, but still intertwined.

You will always be my beloved first born son
Who brought me joy and sadness
And is forever in my heart.