The Year My Son Bought His Own Present

With the end of October comes what one person in our family considers to be the most important event of the year - Chase's birthday. I can't believe my little premie 4 lb 12 oz'er is now 23 with a luscious mane of curly hair on his head, a beard, and pretty much towers over me. At least he likes to hug me now, which was definitely not the case for a long time.

Whelp, let's just get right to the good part. Chase wanted something really bad for his birthday, and it was not something I was going to get for him. In fact, I was just not too sure about the whole thing but he proved me wrong. Chase has long wanted a tattoo. Sigh. Yep, a tattoo. 

Ok, let me just say something here. When I was a teenager, tattoos were a big deal. Almost no one I knew had one and I thought of them as kind of a sign of rebellion. I'll be clear - I never thought that tattoos were evil or signified that anyone with one was any certain kind of person, but tattoos were just not part of the normal culture. I think that has changed a lot these days. But I won't deny that the thought of my son getting one was slightly jarring. I mean, they're just so very permanent. Plus when Chase had started talking about tattoos, he was talking about covering his entire arm. And the fact that he wanted to do it in honor of his brother Matthew didn't make the thought of giant markings all over one arm any better for me. So I told him that of course he could do what he wanted but I wasn't going to pay for it. Hmm. That makes me sound awful. I did not say that in an angry way. And he knew I was not thrilled and he actually very kindly reassured me. 

Chase started out with a much smaller plan than he had talked about during his high school days. He chose just the hand and foot prints of Matthew, and asked for help in deciding how to arrange them on his bicep. I arranged them into what looked like a little heart. He was excited and my heart immediately softened. It really was going to be sweet. 

Ok I should backtrack. We did have our regular morning celebration with Chase. It was kind of funny though - it had to be pretty early because it was a weekday and most of us had work and school. Romney and Nicholas came over for (what else) biscuits and gravy. Emma was still asleep so we whisper-sang happy birthday to you dear Chase before he opened a couple of gifts. 

Romney found a Godzilla Sweater - she knows her brother!

Chase took his sister with him to Provo to the tattoo artist he had picked out. It was kind of a long day for them - the client before Chase ended up taking an hour longer than expected. The benefit from this was that Chase paid about half of what he expected. And although he said he was quite nervous, he said it wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as he was expecting. And guess what, we all love the results, even Troy and me. I really do love it. Enough to get one of my own? Maybe. Not sure yet. 

That evening we hit one of Chase's favorite restaurants - Takumi, the all-you-can-eat sushi spot right by Trader Joe's. It's pretty good, and great if you want a LOT of sushi. I will never get over how much all three of my kids love sushi and other seafood. They will pretty much try anything in the realm of sushi. Will Emma eat a sandwich? No, never. But raw octopus? You bet. Half a crab? Any time. 

It was a treat to celebrate my eldest child. I love him dearly. He is kind and is always willing, with a smile, whenever I ask for help. He is figuring life out, and works hard, and is on his way to great things. Love you, Stomper.