1 week

I am having a hard time concentrating on anything except the fact that Brakston is coming home! I am so excited!

I am counting down in half days now. Wonder how long it will take me before I start counting hours....

Today is his 21st birthday. Wow! Can I really have a child THAT old?!?

I remember his birth so clearly. My water broke during the night so we went to the hospital. I didn't go into labor so the doctor had to induce me. It was painful! Then the doctor kept telling me his head was too big and I'd have to have a c-section. I kept insisting a regular delivery would work. It did but not without my tearing badly and being in pain for a week!

I still enjoyed my baby. He was a good baby. I only had 4 weeks off and then had to go back to work. Luckily, my daycare was right across the street and my boss my really great and understanding. He let me change my hours a bit so I could go over to the daycare twice a day and nurse Brakson. Every once in a while Mark (my boss) would just come into my office and say, "I know you're thinking of your son. Why don't you just run over for few minutes and check on him and give him some hugs?"

I remember when he was about 3 or 4 years old he had an obsession with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. At lunch one day I happened to see that the movie was in a local theater and they actually had a turtle there (Raphael). I went back to the office, took the rest of the day off, and went and picked up Brakston and brought him back to the movie. He was delighted!

Brakston loved all things physical - he climbed everything, learned to ride a bike in less than an hour, played soccer and basketball, learned to rollerblade, etc. He broke his arm jumping on rollerblades. He hated baseball because there was too much sitting around and waiting. That hatred continued through high school.

Brakston was an awesome big brother - especially to Alec. He was always patient with him, took him to movies or out to ice cream, and included him in things. In elementary, Brakston hooked up a trail-a-bike to the back of his bike and rode Alec to school. In high school, Brakston arranged for Alec to "manage" the soccer team so Alec could be included.

Brakston was also always a great son. He was helpful. He would take me on dates on Friday nights. With Kevin gone so much, I often talked to Brakston. We discussed friends, concerns with Alec, parenting, etc. I missed having someone to talk to when he left on his mission (McKayla is now getting old enough).

He wasn't always perfect by any means. In 8th grade, he wasn't doing well in school because he'd forget to turn in his homework. He'd do it but it would stay in his folder forever. I finally got fed up and pulled him out of school and homeschooled him for a semester. He hated it because he was a very social kid and missed his friends (but he did the work pretty much on his own so it was pretty easy for me). The next year I sent him back to school and he was a changed kid. He was very responsible - he did NOT want to be pulled out of school and away from his friends again!

He was very talkative in class and most teachers told me they were sure they were going to hate him and have trouble with him at the first of the year but they all ended up loving him. He never argued with the teachers when he got in trouble for talking but would apologize and try to be quiet. Teachers found this refreshing. He was also nice to everyone, polite to the teachers, and responsible so teachers ended up letting him talk more than he probably should have.

Brakston was always a natural leader and a natural missionary. He was frequently trying to get inactive friends to go to church. He'd invite them, go bang on their doors, pick them up, etc. He just naturally seemed to look out for people. After the first year on the soccer team when he knew what it was like to be the "freshmen", he would always pick at least one freshman to "mentor". He'd show them the ropes, drive them to the dinners, etc.

Brakston could always make me laugh. He was naturally funny and sometimes he was just downright goofy! He never poked fun at others though - just himself.

It will be fun to get to know the "returned-missionary" Brakston. What will he be like? Will he be much changed? Will he still be fun? I can hardly wait to find out!