Happy Birthday Tyler

In just a few days, it will be Tyler's 28th birthday.  Gas prices were $1.13 per gallon.  The mall of America was just opening its doors.  The police officers who beat Rodney King were acquitted.  I had a mullet.

Over the last three decades we would experience countless changes in our own little world, as well as the vast world around us.  There would be additions to our lives, and there would be loved ones that we would lose.  I would also lose the mullet.

I want to fill the blog today with wonderful memories of these years with Tyler.  He deserves happy thoughts and happy memories more than anyone other person than I have ever known.  His courage and fortitude are remarkable. 

I remember when he was very small he would pretend to wrestle with me.  We would roll around the floor pretending to bodyslam and pin one another.  We would bounce on the bed pretending to dive onto each other.  He would put my shoulders to the mat and count "2...2...2...2....3!"  I just laughed out loud thinking about how he would scramble up on the couch with me laying on the floor and launch himself down onto my chest.  It might have looked rough and crazy, but I was always protecting him 100% and he trusted me 100%. 

I remember the years of walking with Tyler up on my shoulders.  He loved to see the world from there.  We walked through malls, the York Fair, and the Ocean City Boardwalk.  I even walked an 8 mile fundraiser with him on my shoulders.  I'm so glad I was able to do that for so many years.  I got to hold onto him as long as I could, and he got to see the world taller than anyone else could.

I remember the trips to Ocean City with him.  He loved to be pushed in his stroller along the boardwalk, sipping on a Dumsers milkshake, and watching the people go by.  Sometimes I would enjoy doing this alone with him so I could feel his peace and the peaceful tempo of the ocean.  So rare it was to feel as carefree and normal as I would feel at that time. 

I remember trips to Disney World with him.  It was so fun to watch him giggle as the rides would push him around in his seat.  He would love the Test Track, and Tower of Terror, and Splash Mountain.  At the end of the day he would bust a gut laughing at the booms of the firework displays. Best of all, we all got to spend quality time with him...something that we will never forget.

I also remember so many little things....the walks, playing basketball, him jumping into the pool into my arms, blowing bubbles, or just laughing at something silly I did for his amusement.

Every positive memory of these 28 years will be cherished forever.  Here is to you, my son, who I have loved with all of my heart since before you were born.  May you have good health and peace for the next 28 years and beyond.

Dad