By Guest Blogger Carol Cain

My teen has been working at adjusting his mindset to what he sees around him and his reality. What he sees around him: parents buying their teens expensive, out-of-the-box cars the minute they turn 17 and new iPhones the minute they hit the market. His reality: which does not suck I might add, is that his 17th birthday will be celebrated a week late because we blew all our money on plane tickets for him and the rest of the family to Turks and Caicos for a long weekend (did you know that flying to Turks and Caicos costs as much as flying to Europe during peak season? It’s no joke my friends.)

The day was September 22nd, 2003. I was selfish. A workaholic. 9 months pregnant. And didn’t know just how my life would change the next day, at 5:40am on a Tuesday, September 23rd.

When I heard the first cry, it literally took my breath away. I was instantly hooked. I hovered over his crib in the hospital. I watched him breathe. I watched his little round face for hours. It was a love only a mother could comprehend.

So to my first born child, my son, who turns 11 today, watching you grow over the past 11 years, has literally, just as the moment you came into the world, taken my breath away. When I’m flustered, you remain calm, saying, “Mommy, don’t worry. Don’t get excited, it’s good.” Or how you can read and watch historical biographies and documentaries for hours, wanting to soak up as much knowledge about the world as possible. Or something as silly as your iPod buzzing off the hook (hello 6th grade!), and you saying, “I don’t care about any of that. I prefer to BE with my friends than text them.” You are all kindness, compassion, sensitivity, intelligence, maturity, strength, and someone I would want as a friend in my life.