Five years ago today we sat in a doctor’s office, arriving early for a 9am appointment. Mason was fidgety and nervous. Even at a young 19 months of age he didn’t care for doctors, nurses or anyone related with the staff despite how cheerful they were with him.
His defenses were up at all times.
Rashele had long suspected something was amiss in Mason’s progress. I, the clueless husband, shrugged it off assuming all was well and he was just going at his own pace.
He wasn’t.

Yesterday Mason was the birthday boy. On Saturday he had a birthday arty. It was his first birthday with his school friends. He invited 20 kids from class. 17 were able to come to the party. Mason got a lot of great gifts that his classmates gave him. He also played a lot in the bounce house. And 3 of my friends were there too. Diego, Brianna and Bailee all came over too. I played with them in the bounce house and we watched movies and ate pizza in my room. Brianna and I made a blanket for Mason. It had puzzle pieces on it. Diego got him a t-shirt and a nerf gun. Bailiee gave him $20.