21 Already - Happy Birthday Matt

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You see the kid in that photo?

He's 21 today.

Damn.

That was fast.

And Matt has done what he's supposed to do. He's been a Momma's Boy, clumsy, sometimes irritating, occasionally lazy, wimpy, loyal to sports teams who are losers, a Momma's boy, my main foil when I want to argue...did I say Momma's Boy?

Yeah...big-time Momma's Boy.

Yet he's always worked hard when he had to. He's done his best, and most of all he's a good person.

And now he's a freaking man in some circles. Legally, he's a full-fledged adult.

As a parent that seems really weird because you can remember every single moment, you know?

(Here you go, Matt, all your secrets out).

As a toddler he shit his pants when my beautiful wife wasn't around. I certainly didn't want to change him, but I had to.

He basically walked into a wall for stitches.

He swallowed a huge piece of roast beef and swallowed it without chewing because his teeth hurt and he was afraid that I'd give him hell if he didn't eat all of his dinner. He had to get it extracted at Women & Children's Hospital and the surgeon took a photo of the beef and showed it to me, laughing as he said:

"Not a tooth mark on it. Bright boy you got there."

But he is a bright boy.

Just this weekend I was out at my mother's for a visit. She had a note that Matt wrote for her about not being able to finish mowing the lawn because the mower had quit. My Mom saved the note because he ended it with a flourish:

"I love you, Grandma."

And so there's a feeling of having done our job. We were able to provide for him (like you wouldn't believe) and he has a good thing going.

I still haven't let up on him, either...but we all know that he's primed to do some good things if he keeps working hard, and he will.

So, Happy Birthday to Matt.

You were truly a goofy kid.

And now you're a goofy man, I suppose.

And we're all proud of you.

But the Bills, Sabres, Pelicans and A's still suck.

And if the garage isn't clean 24 hours after your party I'm going to beat you over the head with one of your brothers.

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