Tuesday, July 08, 2008

EIGHTEEN!?
These eyes belong to someone who once saw me as a giant..((sigh))

Number one Son turned 18 the other day and we had a party for him and 40 of his closest friends.
There were kids everywhere..playing Rock Star in the House, doing shooters in the Kitchen, mingling in the backyard.


I stood there wondering where the TIME went?

I mean c'mon...
I can still remember turning 18..
sort of !?

cue Alice Cooper..I'm Eighteen..

"Lines form on my face and hands
Lines form from the ups and downs
I'm in the middle without any plans
I'm a boy and I'm a man


I'm FIFTY and
I don't know what I want
FIFTY!
I just don't know what I want
FIFTY!
I gotta get away
I gotta clean up this place!
I'll go runnin' in cyberspace

Oh yeah

I got a baby's brain and an old man's heart
Took fifty years to get this far
Don't always know what I'm talkin' about
Feels like I'm livin' in the middle of doubt


My son is EIGHTEEN!?
I get confused every day
EIGHTEEN!?
I just don't know what to say
EIGHTEEN?!
How did I get so grey?

My son is EIGHTEEN!?
and I;
LIKE HIM!
LOVE HIM!
LIKE HIM!
LOVE HIM!
Eighteen-Eighteen-Eighteen-
He's Eighteen and I LIKE IT!"

42 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:09 am

    So he turned 18! Good for him.

    And don't over do it!

    And I am back to torment you..:D

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  2. Happy B-day! 50 is the new 40, or so I hear...

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  3. yea...where did the time go?

    but it looks like he's a great kid...well done dad.

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  4. Wow -- congrats to you both for getting this far. Reminds me that my #1 son turns 18 in two years. Eek!

    PS Allan: 50 is the new 30 -- I hope :)

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  5. he has kind eyes, looks like you did a good job :)

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  6. big big Congratulations :)

    a whole new world awaits.

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  7. *notes lack of oversized red bowtie on son number one*

    Thankfully he didn't inherit your taste for clownish attire.

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  8. Donn, he's a good looking young man... just as you were at 18. And you're still hot at 50, big guy! (I like a mature man - grey hair and all...)

    Age in numbers is nothing... it all how you feel and act - what your heart and brain are capable of... and from reading your posts, you've got tons of smarts and even more heart... and your son looks like he's inherited that too, if pictures can paint a true picture.

    Congratulations to the both of you.... him for being 18... and you for surviving his childhood!

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  9. Wow! 18! Happy birthday! He looks like he's a very nice boy! The future is waiting!

    And 50, Donn, actually I agree with all the commenters above: it's a very nice age! You look so great! ;)

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  10. Anonymous6:44 pm

    Looks as if your lad will have similar happy memories to those of his father.And you'll probably be thinking similar thoughts when your #1 grandson attains his majority.Scary thought, huh?

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  11. Time flies when ya having fun!

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  12. Yea, he's eighteen, but just wait.......just around the corner.....yep.....here it comes.........TWENTY ONE!

    Then there's 25, then 30, the 40, and you think you're grey NOW......hehe.......you ain't seen nuthin yet

    No no no baby
    You Aint seen nuthin yet
    here's somethin
    you ain't ever gonna forget
    No no baby
    You ain't seen nuthin yet

    You ain't been arounnnnnnndddddddddd.......

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  13. It's a year of momentous birthdays in your family, eh? :) Don't worry, 18 year olds are just like 17 year olds only a little older! It's always a little weird to see somebody you thought of as a kid grow into something more closely resembling an adult; you relate differently to that person as they change (well, as you both change), but that's not a bad thing at all. You've got a mate now as well as a son, yeah? :)

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  14. How sweet! What a tribute!

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  15. That's a great milestone but totally understand the feeling. Just this morning, my son wiped his lips after kissing me! I couldn't believe it.

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  16. 18. Congrats to your son. As the noted Sage Abe Simpson might say: "We were full of piss and vinegar back then. At first it was only vinegar...

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  17. P.S. I'm starting a campaign to make 50 the new 37.

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  18. Once again... you are brilliant. When I began reading this post that song (being from AZ and all) came into mind.

    You are genius and all who surround you are blessed. Congrats.

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  19. Anonymous8:13 am

    You made me cry.........

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  20. Anonymous10:56 am

    Awesome!

    You think you feel old now?? Just wait til he hits 21.

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  21. Jeebus...wait until he hits 29 and you realize pretty soon your kid is going to be 30 ....eek....yowzah....it's a shocker! (I'm 51)

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  22. What was that song from The Sound of Music - "I am 50 going on 16 ... " ?
    Oh to be 49 again.

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  23. GAUTAMI
    Over do it?
    Moderation is my middle name!
    I've been very busy and have been remiss in my visiting..I hope to catch up in a day or two.

    ALLAN
    I was hoping that 50 was the new 30..maybe we can split the dif...howzabout 35ish?

    KATHERINE
    Welcome! He is a great kid and I can't take too much credit..all I did was tell him how AWFUL I was when I was his age to try to scare him. He is who he is and I am eternally grateful.

    ANDREA
    I hope that it is the new 30 too...anyway 18 isn't the landmark that it once was because kids live at home until they are 30 and have have finished a couple of Degrees.
    I read that the ave Canadian female is something like 28 when she gets married. I guess that Parents are semi cool enough to tolerate now..maybe we need a new generation gap?

    GLORIA
    He has kind molecules! He is the sweetest guy and I certainly am proud of him but again I cannot take much credit...I just sit back and marvel at how great he is...he chose his own path...and of course I wish that he was still four and that I could watch over him.

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  24. GHOSTAY
    A whole new world
    A dazzling place I never knew
    But when I'm way up here
    It's crystal clear
    That now I'm in a whole new world with you
    Now I'm in a whole new world with you

    Unbelievable sights
    Indescribable feeling
    Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling
    Through an endless diamond sky

    OK I'll stop now..

    MJ
    HA! That pic was just for you because I know how much you dig my groovy threads.

    PONYGIRL
    He was an absolute joy..never caused me a moment's grief..seriously...which makes me sort of nervous because maybe he has been saving it up and he is gonna drop a 'bomb' on me one of these days!
    Naah..that only happens in the movies right?

    LENI
    I actually don't mind being 50..fifty schmifty..except for all of the little aches and pains...but it is a milestone because we like to sort our stages by decades. WhatEVER..I'm right in the middle of the Baby Boom so there is safety in numbers...

    one thing that I have noticed is that when I was young I was in love with sharks and dinosaurs..BIG POWERFUL things..now at 50 I appreciate songbirds and flowers..there's another post in there somewhere.

    MOREIDLETHOUGHTS
    Wow if he doesn't get married until he is 28 and waits 5 years to have kids then another 18 years and I would be..




    83?

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  25. im happy to know you and how ur d coolest dad in da world...ur achievement makes us proud and wanna make us follow ur steps OLD MAN! :P

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  26. You're freaking me out! My husband always does this fractional math telling me how much of our estimated time at home with the children has been used up (assuming the standard age of 18). This post is bittersweet that way no? You want them to grow and yet you don't! He looks healthy and happy and that's all one can wish for. Congrats!

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  27. WHITESNAKE
    Exactly! Remember how you can't wait to be old enough to get your driver's license and then old enough to get into the pub and then before you know it you want TIME to slow down!
    Woah..I think 30 was my first what the? Then you're 40? YIKES!!

    THE MICHAEL
    Hey some good old Canadian Content..from Winnipeg boys no less!
    Actually my daughters are a few years older so this wasn't as traumatic as it could have been.

    STACE
    Old enough to vote! It is a weird sitch because you want to be mates but you're still a Father...so you need to follow the middle path.

    The only advice I have to offer is to monitor who your kids are hangin' out with. Usually they attract similar people and if they are comfortable in their own skin then they won't need to be around the so-called "cooler' cats who you know are borderline sociopaths.
    Self esteem..you want them to have loads of self confidence and modesty.

    ANGELA
    What an old mushball eh? What are ya gonna do? I'm just so happy that he's happy. There will be hard times, nobody gets away with a completely charmed life, but it's how you handle the crap that really defines your character. He seems so even keeled that I am hoping for the best..and because he rarely makes really stupid decisions he should avoid a lot of extra self inflicted grief.
    *crosses fingers

    MENCHIE
    Oh NO! Did you have strawberry lip gloss on? Don't worry I'm sure that he'll never stop kissin' his Mommy...it's not an option.

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  28. BREAKERSLION
    HA! And don't forget that Abe said that hanging an onion on your belt was the custom at the time!

    Thirty seven would be awesome...
    those were halcyon days when you're not too young not too old..
    you had some life experience and still had plenty of time to use it.

    KINDNESS
    Yes Vincent Furnier was one of my favorites..I couldn't begin to estimate how many times I listened to Love It To Death and Killer. Plus he was just a Beer Drinkin Golfin guy who left the whole Rock Star thing on the stage!

    Oh yeah he lives in AZ doesn't he?
    If we had a karoeke night i would sing
    She struts into the room
    but I don't know her
    but with a mag-nifyin' glance
    I just sort of look her over
    We had a drinkl or two
    well maybe three
    and then suddenly she starts tellin' me her life story

    and she says
    baby if you wanna be my lover
    you better take ho-o-o-o-me

    DANA
    You big mush! You were there you saw how happy he was and now you have a wonderful Auntie D photo on facebook that will be there for infinity..or atleast until the sun expires in 4 billion years

    CATSCRATCH DIVA
    HIs sistahs are a few years older so I did have some practice..the first child to hit 18 is a bit of an eye opener...and they're all different..but number one daughter is a bit more edgey..a tad more like her old man..so she and I have an understanding...could be that firstborn thing where you have to test all of the boundaries and your siblings have a cakewalk thanks to your hard work...anyway she is awesome and she made me feel very included in her 18th celebration too..although she had more of a Cecil B DeMillian cast of thousands.
    What are ya gonna do?

    GILLETTE
    OK let's not rush things..my daughter is only approaching her mid twenties so I have a few years before I have to deal with that!
    Although time goes by so quickly now that it will be here long before I am ready...oh well...nuthin I can do about it.

    I am trying to appreciate the here and now and when the future IS the here and now I hope that we're all still this lucky.

    You're only 51 ((pffft)) I betcha we'll be out here decades from now talking about how great it is being 71!

    DAPHNE
    That darn Rolf (was that his name?) really screwed things up for little Liesl...man she can really pick em!

    I am 16 going on 17
    I know that I'm naive
    Fellows I meet may tell me I'm sweet
    but I picked a Nazi?

    I need someone
    blonder and aryan
    Telling me what to do
    You are 17 and fercockt
    You'll, just have, to do

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  29. You have four AWESOME OFFSPRING, they are so alive and full of lust for life like you are...they have a good example to follow.

    Spence is an incredible young lad with only greatness ahead of him, as with daughters 1 and 2.

    Son No. 2, of course, is the apple of my eye and way too young to be worrying about stuff like life.

    Congrats to Spence and to you for helping to build him into what he has become and will become.

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  30. ...and happy birthday to handsome, smiling, gorgeous 18 yo!

    He is just beautiful Donn, it is an amazing time to listen and hear their opinions on stuff, how they have plans for themselves, their life unfolding...their sense of fun.

    I do remember being 18, just a kid, no idea on much at all, kinda just in freefall. I love that we never lose that sense of the kid within us, is sort of the light inside.

    Alice Cooper is the best! He was in Oz not long ago, the performer who brought rock and theatre together, and he is one talented, wise and funny man, I am so glad he is still alive to share stuff with us, heard an interview about his drinking addiction, he's walked a tough path and got thru it. His music is just so damn good. Ya know that is a great and innovative era for music around Alice, amazing stuff going on.

    Grey hair is very cool, very sexy...my partner has gone grey relatively young, as have all his family, a genetic thing I think, I think he actually looks more handsome than when he was 20, that's fair dinkum.

    Pam

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  31. great genes.
    and i wasn't invited.
    my school of er.. fish would have loved to come.
    congrats on doing a great job of ..schooling your kids. and yes you look really good.

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  32. Seems like you did a wonderful job with him. Happy birthday to your baby boy!

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  33. Great that you get on with your 18-year old, Don.

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  34. legal AND hot like his daddy!

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  35. whoaaaaaaaa Happy 18th Donn junior!

    He's very good-looking! Just like that hot dad :)


    Keshi.

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  36. GHOSTAY

    Old Man! HA! I may be gettin older on the outside but inside I'm still young at heart..I just know better now and every once and a while I exercise my impulse control...just because I have to.
    Damnit!

    SUSANNITY
    Happy and Healthy is priceless. Don't worry they hang around a lot longer than 18..and then they still need you for another 18...and then you need them..well actually you always need them because they are your teachers as much as they are your students.

    WHATS UP
    So far I have been ridiculously lucky to have been able to bond and have them around..once they start moving away I will be sad...so I have to remember to steal every moment now.
    Thanks for the kind words buddy.

    SIENNA
    I am a little surprised that Alice made such an impact over there...I got hooked by all of the theatrical stunts but his band was uber cool when we were young...and even cooler because our parents thought that he was the antichrist!

    I listened to Killer over and over and I still listen to Cold Ethyl Billion Dollar Babies and Unfinished Sweet.

    I am just starting to go grey and don't mind. I was at a Mark Knopfler concert the other night and sat in the midst of a sea of grey hair...whatEV! It happens.

    MISTI
    I have a little ornamental pond in the backyard and you could have dropped your Piranha in there..everybody would have thought that was cool..and they would have fed him snacks all night..prolly until he exploded:)

    ANNA
    I did very little other than tell him the truth about my experience and I think that he may have understood that actions have consequences that far outlast the great idea at the time mentality that teens love to indulge in.

    He is just a nice person I had nothing to do with that.

    KRIMO
    How ya doin? It is a pleasure to listen to him and I love spending time with him..he is super funny and he makes me laugh and laugh.

    FIRST NATIONS
    Legal and Hot sounds like a great name for a dating service. Oh to go back and... well there is no point in even thinking about it...I had a good run, can't complain...passed on a few pointers to the lad and now it's up to him. He is way more level headed than I was so hopefully that will make his path a little easier.

    KESHIROO
    Maybe I'll just have to send him over there to see if Australia really is as wonderful as I think it is? Do you suppose that the sheilas would appreciate a cute considerate courteous Canuck?

    He is hilarious too...super funny guy..he was named after Spencer Gulf where they filmed most of the Great White shows...

    HEY, there's an ice breaker that he could use eh?

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  37. Donn, I don't know why you keep saying you had nothing to do with Spence being such a great young man.... just look in the mirror!

    You have a fabulous intellect and a huge heart - and that you passed along to him genetically as well as through your actions.... you did a great job with him, even if it was done unknowingly or unwittingly.... take your pick.

    I am sure you are doing the same with the littlest guy too, only this time I bet you are a bit more aware of it!

    Both you and WW have done a great job with your kids, from what you two have blogged about... so pat yourselves on the back, the pair of you, take a bit of the credit, and be proud as all hell that your offspring have turned out so well!

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  38. he's eighteen???
    eighteen???
    eighteen???
    and you're 50?????????
    you poor man LOL

    congrats on his b'day :)

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  39. Wow, he is the spittin' image of you when you were his age!

    I don't know why that always surprises me... probably because my kids look nothing like me.

    And I'm just a bit happy to find you are older than me (slightly).

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  40. PONYGIRL
    That is very sweet of you to say but I know lots of great parents who did exactly the same things and yet one of their kids went a wonky...so I stick by my initial statement..luck of the draw.

    SWEETS
    That ain't so bad? Letterman is 60 and he has a 4 year old..Michael Douglas, Warren Beatty...what about Tony Randall who had kids in his 70s!?..course he died shortly after but anyway I am young at heart and still fairly immature so I should be OK.

    MISS CELLANIA
    You're a Spring Chicken Miss C.
    It is cool to have a half clone but man I wish that I had his physique...sigh..oh well atleast I did look like that..35 years ago!

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  41. woohoo!
    happily 18th birfdaze, #1 son!
    and HUGE congratulations to you and your fabulous other half donn!

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  42. Hello Donnster,

    enjoying your blog. Liked the parody of song, and love that another parent is appreciating the wisdom that "18" is still a step into manhood....not the watered down version of endless childhood the so many subscribe to today.

    ReplyDelete

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