And, just like that, Jimmy is an adult. He's 18. No longer the solid little baby boy with a perpetual grin. No longer the chubby toddler that knew everyone's name, at every park, party and event. No longer the friendly school ager who loves ALL sports, musicals, drums and anything that was a group activity with a bit of competition but especially the Vikings. No longer the tweenager who played video games with his posse for HOURS and HOURS on end in our basement. No longer the teenager that found his passion for Jesus, politics and academics.
However, he will always be Jimmy. Extroverted, passionated, football loving, drumming, talkative, competitive, argumentative, affectionate, funny, thoughtful, committed, rule following, curious, opinionated and nice to everyone.
We are so proud of the man you have become. There is a big world out there for you to explore. It starts this year as you explore colleges that fit your desire for football, political science and jazz. It will be a year of last 1st times. (Last 1st day of high school, etc).
You have a year to learn/practice adulting. Laundry, filling the car with gas, balancing your bank account, paying bills, learning to make simple meals...
We can't wait to see how you grow this year, where you choose to go to college and the impact you'll make as a senior at Hopkins and on the world around you.
We love you beyond words, measure and comprehension. Mom and Dad
Sweetness
Sauve
The team
The captions, AJ, BJ, RJ and Jimmy 
Orange Chicken celebration 
An adulting starter kit
A new guitar 
I think he slept with it....
Not one to normally poach another persons post but ... dear Grayce turned 18 earlier this summer and I think her mom, Chandra, summed it up so beautifully. I wish I was 1/2 as poetic as she is but all I can say is ... yes. Us too. This ->
Watching our daughter grow and change and BECOME over the years has been…life. You don’t think of the sometimes boring dailies as momentous, but OH, THEY ARE. Momentous. Expansive. Breathtaking. Both seconds and centuries long.
Pregnancy, Birth, Breastfeeding, Baby Giggles, Toddler Tantrums, Playgroups, Fairy Dresses, Food Allergies, Big Sister-ing, Snowsuits, Forest Walks, Montessori School, Reading Books in the Park, India, Homeschooling, Loss, Friendships, Arguments, Fears, Travels, Moves, Tears, Dances, Romance, Hikes, Adventures, Challenges (both big and small). All of those things happen while you put kids to bed, throw in a load of laundry, juggle driving and work schedules, argue with your spouse, cook meals, try-and-figure-out-how-you’re-going-to-parent-without-ruining-them, put on a few pounds, and generally muss about the business of living and raising a family. And then they’re adults. Tiny, laughing GRAYCE is suddenly…a new adult. She is passionate, compassionate, beautiful, fiercely independent, well-read, self-aware, darkly comic, organized, anxious, political, walking this earth with a decent awareness of what is true and real and what cannot stand. This is only her beginning (as it only ever is), and while the future is hers to choose, I know that she is as well-prepared to choose it as one can ever be. We love her and believe in her and are SO grateful for her.
Grayce, my love, we gift you with this illustriously messy world, in the best hope that you will do what small part you can, with integrity and bravery, to make it a place worthy of saving, for everyone.
Know that we are your soft landing, your open umbrella, your origin-story, your cheerleaders, your reality checks, your family… Happy VERY Belated Birthday Post. WE LOVE YOU FOREVER
