More milestones

Although we love Garrett dearly, he’s not the only child in our lives. Bob’s daughter, Susie just had a big milestone: she graduated from the University of Nebraska at Kearney (pronounced Carney) in December with a Masters Degree in Business and Physical Education. Bob literally went through hell to make it to her graduation. He drove down during the worst ice and snowstorm of the year—turning a 9-hour trip into 13. But he was good for his word and was there to cheer her on. Way to go Susie. Here’s proud papa with his pretty daughter.

The other child who’s got a big milestone coming up is Sade. The following Sunday, she turns 18—and the next day, we celebrate our 11th year of being matched. Yowza. I remember the first day we met back in 1998. The caseworker at Big Brothers Big Sisters and I knocked on her door and a girl (who looked to be about seven) answered. I just assumed this was Sade and focused all my attention on her. We were invited into the living room and as I sat down I noticed two little girls in the corner. One was a toddler and the other was giggling nervously. The giggly girl had her hands up over her face, so it was hard to tell how old she was, but this itty-bitty thing turned out to be Sade. I looked at her and announced, “Happy Birthday—I’m your birthday present.” And that’s how it started. We’ve definitely have had our ups and downs. But she’s grown into a beautiful young lady with a great set of values. Unlike many of her friends, she’s stayed away from drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and “bad” boys. I’m very proud of her. Most importantly, I will be in the front row come graduation time this June cheering her on until I’m horse. She will be only the second in her family to graduate from high school. (And hopefully the first to attend college.) I’m like the proud mama here.

Now I need to figure out how to make her birthday extra special. Any thoughts out there? Puleeez, I need help.

And last, but not least, some of our boy’s milestones. Garrett can now identify colors, shapes and all the letters in the alphabet (still needs help with numbers). He can write his first and last name, color inside the lines, count to 30 (I think), recite his phone number—and is proficient at solving 48-piece puzzles. He stands two inches taller, his shoe size has grown three sizes and has gained four pounds in the past nine months. He plays on his own now for short periods of time. The odd thing is he has no short or long-term memory to speak of. Not sure why. Maybe he’s suppressing things or lacks the communication skills. Or maybe he’s like our dog, Cody and just lives in the moment. I suppose time will tell.