Gotta Love That Boy

“Calvin” was always a challenge to raise.  Not in a bad way.  Most people would say he was “all boy”.  He was a bundle of energy from the time he woke up until the minute he literally collapsed at the end of the day.  Since he was physically energetic, the more you could find for him to do, the happier we all were.  If his body were see-through, I swear you would be able to see neurons firing constantly and at a high rate of speed.

Mentally, he was equally energetic.  He was always asking questions and believe me he NEVER stopped talking.  Did I mention that he was extremely loud?  I actually asked to have his hearing checked because I thought he had problems with his ears and that was why he talked so loud.  Nope.  He was just loud.

We have numerous videos of birthday parties when the kids were little.  In every single video, no matter what else is going on, you see a shadowy figure darting back and forth at high rates of speed in the background.  And, you hear a mother’s voice saying “Stop that, sit down, stop running.”  But the streak remains on the screen.  Maybe we should have directed him to be a superhero, like the Flash.

His mind never slowed down and I think if you ask his girlfriend, “Wiz” she would say that this is still true for him at almost 30.  In middle school, his language arts teacher was a master at keeping him occupied and growing.  One of her pet projects was a book called “Lizard Music”.  During the course of the lessons, “Calvin” of course got bored.  Eventually, he took pieces of paper and folded them into an entire apartment of furnishings for the lizard.  There were chairs, tables, couches and even a pair of sunglasses because you know lizards like the sun.

We found out pretty early that “Calvin” did not react to medicines and other things the way you would expect.  Normally, if you give a child Benadryl, it zonks them for hours.  Not “Calvin”, it fired him up even more.  Believe me, that is not what we needed in our house.  So, I prayed for him never to need Benadryl. 

Caffeine was a disaster.  I was totally unaware that Mountain Dew is loaded with caffeine.  I found out the hard way.  We were on a church choir trip and “Calvin” asked for some pop.  I knew cola had caffeine.  Mountain Dew should be alright though, it looks like 7-Up right?  WRONG!!!!!  That child RAN for three hours nonstop and talked the whole time!  Eventually, we were smart enough to use that energy to our advantage and direct those energies into yard work, etc.  That boy could dig a hole faster than any groundhog alive!

Most parents would have considered medication to slow him down.  We decided to have a glass of wine, or two, or three….  The time and energy spent with him was rewarding, and I am so proud of the young man that he is.  I am excited to see him progress in life, get married and have children.  After all, it is only fair that he should have the opportunity to experience what I did!!!  Enjoy this beautiful day, and always be grateful for the gifts you receive even if they don’t last forever.