Wednesday, September 26, 2018

A Boy Turns Nine


Today is a most, most special day. It is the birthday of Owen and he is nine years old.
Or, as Hank said on Facebook today, "He used to be a baby but now he's a grown-ass man."
Well. Almost.
I have so many pictures of Owen from when he was little. I was his caretaker when his mama and his daddy were at work and so I had every opportunity to take his picture. And since he was my first grandchild, every breath he took was photo-worthy to me. I must have dozens of him and my beloved rooster Elvis alone. They loved to study each other. They were part of each other's world. I like to think they were buddies.



I want this post to flow and to be a tribute to that boy. The boy who made me a grandmother. The boy who bound his freshly made grandfather to me even tighter as we beheld in wonder the true result of where our love had led.


I also want to honor his mother and his father who from the moment Lily went into labor worked as a team of support and love and strength to get him here and who have worked together in strength and in love to raise him. This picture.


This was two days after Owen was born. And I love it. 

I want to do all of that but it's impossible to truly convey what the day Owen was born meant to me or how he's become such a part of my life and my heart that I can't begin to imagine what my life would be without him. He gave me my grandmother name. He has honored me with his trust and his love and his respect, too. I have watched him grow from the second of his birth to the boy he is now. And I could not love him more. 


He has absolutely helped me to define who I am and what my role as an older woman is. 
And it has been the most incredible experience and I am going to use this word again- honor- to be a part of his life. To watch him grow and develop and change and learn about the world and to become a loving, intelligent, sweet human being with a style all of his own, a voice all of his own, a life all of his own. 

Some of you have read it before. 
I think about that day and get a real sense of how that first grandchild pulls tight the knots that bind a family. Before that baby comes, we may all love and cherish and enjoy each other but with the arrival of the child, we are all bound in no uncertain terms to help preserve and nurture the life which has arrived in our midst. And all of my grandchildren are blessed in that our entire family has joyfully accepted that sacred trust. 
And it has been a blast. 

I called Owen this afternoon and sang him Happy Birthday and if I do say so myself I did a great job of it. I sang with verve and with drama and was mostly in tune. And then I began to cry because that's what I do. 
Tomorrow we'll all go out for supper after he gets his ears pierced (at a medical facility!) and the party won't end until Sunday when there's going to be an entire family blow-out to celebrate all of the birthdays from this week. 

So happy birthday, Owen Curtis Hartmann! You are nine years old! You are amazing and your life is going to be an amazing adventure and 
You are loved!!!!!

Thanks for being my grandson. Thanks for giving me my grandmother name. Thanks for being you. 


You are glorious! 

Love...MerMer

15 comments:

  1. Wait until your first born grandchild has their own child! Our granddaughter is married with a six month old perfect baby boy, and I cry every time they leave here. How can our baby have one of her own??? Yes, grandkids are definitely the tie that binds, lucky us, huh?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Owen is going to cherish this post for the rest of his life. When he becomes a grandparent, when you are long since gone, he will know what you mean. He will understand the love.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Happy birthday dear Owen. Your grandmother loves you with her whole heart and she’s allowed us love you too. You are a wonderful young man and it’s been such a joy to hear your Mer’s stories about you and to watch you become so fully yourself. Enjoy, enjoy. You are so cherished.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Happy birthday dear Owen! What a fine grandmother name you created!
    Xoxo
    Barbara

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wishing Owen many, many happy returns of the day!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Happy birthday to the boy we all love. This marks my 9th anniversary reading your blog too. I remember seeing that pic of you and Mr Moon at the hospital while reading the welcome Owen post. I am grateful a good human like Owen is in this world and that your blog is here too.

    ReplyDelete
  7. lordy, I remember with joy the day Owen was born..........I've been relishing your life for that long, Ms Moon! Happy Birthday Owen! You are loved by so many .......... may the rest of your life be filled with as much love as it is now
    Susan M

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a privilege it’s been to know Owen in some small way through you here. Thank you, Mary! And Happy Birthday to Owen!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Happy 9th Birthday, Owen!
    We have all grown to love you through your Grandmother’s blog and we know you to be an incredibly loving, conscientious and thoughtful young man. You have a wonderful life ahead of you with all the love and support of a truly amazing family.

    ReplyDelete
  10. well, I haven't been following you since Owen was born but he was pretty young so I've watched that boy grow up. he is an amazing human being.

    ReplyDelete
  11. A huge happy birthday to Owen! I can't believe he's nine already. Time flies. And as I said, I want earring pics!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Happy Birthday Owen! I have been reading all of your previous birthday posts. You are fortunate to have been born into such a wonderful family...I hope we can all see your new pierced ears. Much love to you.

    ReplyDelete

Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.