"Go shorty, it's your birthday ..."

Today is my only son's birthday. He's 26 years old.

He lives in Simpsonville. He has a college education and a good job. The one-year anniversary of his marriage to Brandy is in less than a month. He dreams of learning to pilot airplanes. He also wants very badly to build his own plane. He has brown hair and freckles ... and a scar on his left elbow from having it wired back together after he shattered it in a biking accident.

Those are the facts.

Here are a few lesser-known facts about Adam J. Ford:

~ His name is Adam. Most people know him as "AJ", a nickname that got stuck when he was 10 or 11.

~ He was born 2 weeks early.

~ He had jaundice when he came home from the hospital. The doctor told me to lay him in a sunny spot (with no clothes or diaper on) to make it better.

~ As a baby, he couldn't turn himself from his back to his stomach until WELL after all the books said he should have.

~ His favorite food, as an infant, was mashed banana.

~ He had a doll named "Josh" when he was two years old.

~ When we made car trips, he would sing "On The Road Again" by Willie Nelson. I can still hear it in my head. :-)

~ He did a killer PeeWee Herman impression when he was in the 1st grade.

~ He took horseback riding lessons in the 2nd grade.

~ He was on the Tinikling Team in the 5th grade. (An explanation of tinikling can be found here.)

~ He loved taking Martial Arts lessons in middle school. He stopped before he earned that black belt though.

~ My favorite thing about him is the way his face lights up when he talks about things he's interested in ... whether it's Tool or Kevin Smith, computers or airplanes.

~ My other favorite thing about him is his levelheadedness ... a trait he obviously did NOT get from his Mama.

~ My other favorite thing about him is his ability to make me laugh.

~ He was unconditionally adored by his Grandpa (my dad), until the day he died in 1994. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that majority of Daddy's time in Heaven is spent watching over his "A'm James".

~ He is a truly talented percussionist.

~ He likes to cook, and he does it well.

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Happy Birthday, Adam. I'm so glad you're my son. You are a young man of good character, good humor, and good heart. I am proud of the man you've become.
May your "Year of 26" be the BEST one so far!
I love you ... always!
xoxo Mom