Kale's Birthday

I can't believe I have a son who is 26! I don't feel old enough to have a child that age. In my quest to find the most embarrassing photos to post here for his birthday, I, of necessity, took a walk down memory lane. What a journey!

There is a reason Kale is the way he is. He was born when we lived in a 535 square foot cabin at the foot of Mineral Hill in Conconully, Washington. We only had a woodstove for heat and the day he was born, he has heard this story many times, I was in labor but we had to stoke the stove before we left for the hospital so I was out chopping wood for the stove just 6 hours before he was born. It was a Sunday, it had snowed a foot overnight and they don't plow roads on Sundays because no school buses run. We made it to the hospital though without incident and after a very short period of time he was born. Keep in mind, he was at this point 3 weeks late, therefore, certain bodily functions had begun in the womb causing a few concerns, along with the umbilical chord being wrapped around his neck three times! I am proud to say, however, that I accomplished the birth of this 7lb 9 oz baby boy with not so much as a tylenol for pain. That is why less than 24 hours later I was able to take him home to that 535 square foot cabin where he spent the first 4 years of his life. We were pretty much granola crunching, first time parents, thus, Kale.

Of the 187 People living in Conconully at the time, about 180 of them were elderly folks so imagine the impact this little baby made at the Christmas potluck a week later. I didn't hold him once as he was passed from grandma types all around the room. While we lived in Conconully, to my knowledge, only three children were born, my two sons and a daughter to my friend Susie. We make choices in life and one of ours was to move from Conconully when both children were young because we thought they needed more than Conconully could offer. I'm not sure about that decision. It was a beautiful place.

As he grew, Kale was immediately known as being very intelligent. At 18 months he could tell you the name of every conceivable dinosaur (I read him lots of dinosaur books) and as shameless parents we would show this talent off to anyone who would listen at any time. One of my favorite stories was one his Grandpa Wicks would tell of walks they took and he would make statements like "that is an interesting area down there" when talking about Shellrock Point and ask questions that could stump us all.

Kale had three years and two months with me as my only son and I worried so about bringing another baby into the family and how that would affect him. Little did I know I was bringing him his lifelong best friend. God knows I made plenty of mistakes in the raising of my children but the single most important thing I did right was helping them understand the importance of the other one in their lives and to never let anything or anyone come between that. But the time I had alone with my son before his brother was born is some of the most precious time of my life. It sounds corny, I know, but he was the most special of children and he has carried that into his adult life.

Kale had a few special things as a baby and child. He loved his Bucky the Wonder Horse he got for his first birthday and for the first 4 years of his life he was hardly ever without his Superman Cap. But probably the most special thing was his bear, "Taco". I don't really know how the bear got that name. But I think his dad suggested "Paco" and Kale repeated it as Taco and so it was. Kale carried Taco everywhere with him for several years.

Kale was born into our family when we had a beautiful yellow lab named Beau. Beau lived with us for 12 years and unfortunately passed away when Kale was 7 years old. It was actually on his brother's birthday. We were in the process of buying a house, our first one. It snowed 1 1/2 feet that day so we put Beau on a sled and walked to our new house and buried him there.

After a couple of years of mourning, Kale decided he wanted a puppy for Christmas. He decided, with our help, that he wanted a female yellow lab puppy. He even wrote Santa a letter. Of course, in spite of the fact that he was sure his brother had ruined his chances of getting a puppy, he got his puppy, Murphy, and she was with us for 16 years.

I could go on and on about Kale as he grew into a great athlete, a great friend and the best of sons and brothers but this post is already much too long. Suffice it to say that Kale has touched many lives with his love, intelligence and true caring for those around him. He really does Radiate Warmth every day. I will end this post with random embarrassing photos just because. I love you Kale!