Happy Birthday 🎁 Jake!

My boy, Jake is 26 years old today.

Man, his birth is a moment that is seared into my brain. I just remember thinking:

“There’s living proof” of God’s existence, and I really don’t know how anyone watches that and doesn’t believe.

A miracle.

Course, just a few years later we were ‘Counting On A Miracle’ - which we also got!

But Jake doesn’t like to even think about it. Any time someone complains about being sick, Jake will say, “Uh, I had a tumor and I didn’t complain that much.”

And I hear from Jake every day, of course. He usually texts me in the late morning and we keep a running dialogue going through the afternoon.

He’s a smart kid, a funny guy, and the most under control of all three of my boys.

Which is kind of wild because as a toddler he once trashed his room as though he were a member of ‘The Who’.

Jake wants a Bills or a Sabres title.

He would rather that life be orderly.

And he makes me laugh.

Matt and Sam always tell me that ‘Jake is your favorite’ and of course, there’s no such thing as a favorite kid.

But I think about that time when Jake was sick, and the deals I made as I prayed for his recovery.

By going through it, Jake provided a lesson on how it felt to be a Dad.

All these years later, and the worry is ever-present..

…but so is the love and pride and happiness.

Happy Birthday, buddy.

We love you!

Come and play ball with Ollie!