Birthday boy

Make a wish
London, ON, July 2008

I tend to view life in terms of moments. Most of them are small, and they seem to disappear almost as quickly as we realize how precious they are. Yet they somehow stay stuck in our memory long after they've faded into the past, their vivid images reminding us why we need to try so hard to remember them.

We all make wishes before we blow the candles out. It's quite possibly the most cliched modern tradition in existence. But there's something about watching your child experience the moment that makes it anything but mundane. In that blink of a moment, I saw a child for whom nothing was impossible, who was surrounded by the people who mattered most, who knew he was loved limitlessly, who was content with his place in the world.

That won't always be the case. As Noah moves from 8 to 18 to 28, he'll be ever more responsible for his own destiny. He'll experience challenge and loss, and much as we wish we could be, we won't always be right there to cushion him. But at this moment, as he moved from 7 to 8, none of that mattered. And as he reflected on the ideal year ahead of him, I found myself wishing alongside him that his every reflection would be similarly charmed.

Your turn: What did he wish for?

One more thing: We're still taking submissions for Thematic Photographic - Reflective and Caption This.

Make that two: Noticed many of you have wished the little man a happy birthday...which isn't until July (the pic is dated July 2008, but I realize it's easy to miss. I'll word it more carefully next time. Apologies for the confusion.)