Today marks the birthday of son #1.  He’s 22 years old, a fact I find both astonishingly unbelievable and completely expected.  I have a feeling that every parent of young adults has a similar feeling as the year count increases on our offspring… but yet we parents don’t like the idea of “suddenly” turning into older people. 

December birthdays are not exactly fair, I’ve always thought.  There are so many other celebrations going on, it’s often hard to figure out exactly what to do to acknowledge his special day.  Throughout his life, I’ve tried to find ways to make it special.  Between fighting potential wintry weather and friends’ full calendars, his birthday party planning has always been trickier than the rest of the family’s. 

Cue 2020 to enter from the wings, the year that ushers in all sorts of differences. 

There are no high school basketball games competing for our attention; the season is still on hold here in Vermont at least. 

Unlike last year, I did not have a bus group of exchange students and friends, traveling to New York City to explore the Big Apple while it is all decked out in holiday splendor.  I have no exchange students to coordinate.

All those other normal gatherings that pop up between groups and friends?  Cancelled—or better put, not even discussed anymore.  The silver lining for his birthday in an odd year?  No competition for getting his core family around the dinner table!