My Greatest Joy

(In a post dated August 25th 2007)

Greetings, Hotep and Shalom,

I just wanted to begin the next phase of my life by sharing, with those of you whom have been instrumental and whom have borne witness to my families evolution. Yes, This includes you.

Yesterday, on August 24th, 2007, my eldest son, Ory, turned the first, of many, corners in his life, where-by redefining my life and role as mother and his role as my son. He turned 13.... Now, I know some of you would not consider that to be monumental by any standard, children grow up every day... But, Ory, my eldest son, my pride and my reason for wanting to be a better person, has managed in 13 short years to define all things that I know as good and just in a person.

He has been there, with my family (my self and his 2 brothers, respectfully) through the best and the worst the ups and the downs. He has experienced things that have truly defined his character, for the better... He has, to the best of his ability, managed to understand and apply that which he has, so profoundly, observed and learned, to the matters that are based in right and wrong. His level of foresight and kindness are unmatched, as far as I know, by any one in his age group ( I dare say adults too ). He is the best of sons and the best of me...

At one point I would have argued that a woman could only raise a son to a certain point in his life, but then would need a male, a man, to guide him the rest of the way.... my, my my, my, my... How times have changed....That thought is no longer relevant for my family and I am so grateful to have to opportunity to raise not only Ory but my entire family, single handedly and be able to watch the fruits of my loins, my labor and sacrifice, evolve right before my eyes, into the most wonderful people I know.

As you may know, I have never set up expectations of my sons... My only want for them is to be upstanding men capable of living by principal. With that, every good thing will follow. Ory is proving, every day, that the path is not only noble but possible and productive. To say I am overwhelmed with sentiment and love for the boy is an understatement, to say I am proud of him is an understatement. What I will say is, I respect him and his visions... My efforts, every day are to stay forever worthy of being his mom.

I believed, I had fallen short, on occasion, where my parenting is concerned (I learned, that was just the learning curve of life), but I look at Ory and listen to him and I know I am doing more than just one thing right and that, for as good as a child as he is, I have never fallen short... I know I am doing HIM right.

If someone had told me, 13 years ago, just how profoundly a single person could change your life, right down to how you breath and how your heart beats.... well, I don think I would have believed them. To have the honor of being MOM... WOW, That is the most sincerely humbling experience I could have.

I say all this to you because I wanted to share, with you, My Blessing.