What an interesting time to be celebrating your 18th birthday. We were not able to do our usual – going to a restaurant of your choice, due to the pandemic. I have been reflecting on the last eighteen years and it has been an absolute joy watching you grow.
The memories from travel soccer and basketball endure, and watching you transition from these activities to skateboarding as your primary passion has been an exercise in parental acceptance. The singular focus with which you learn and practice your tricks in the garage before going to the skate park is inspiring. Kwame, this year has certainly been interesting – we have had the pandemic as the pronounced event in the background, but life has kept humming. We celebrated your driver’s license and graduating High School. We lost Grandma Gwen in May which for all of us is our most significant loss to date. While all of this occurred, this year you also started college from your “bedroom”. We have talked about this experience and you have expressed hope that campus learning will resume soon. These challenges are allowing you to develop skills that will serve you well as you continue your journey.
I hope you noticed how brilliant the weather was today (75f). I went back and looked at the weather on November 7th for the past eighteen years and today’s is the best with the second being 2015 on your 13th birthday (73f), the rest of the years were more fall like. This time lapse serves as an interesting metaphor for your journey so far and more generally about life. Kwame forever remember that even when ominous clouds are present, opportunities abound for progress. During this year of the pandemic, this year that we mourned the loss of grandma, you earned your license, you completed high school, started college, and have a few new skateboarding tricks under your belt.
Happy 18th birthday Kwame! Kwame, November 7th will always be a special day in our family because it is the date of your birth and will be celebrated for decades to come. I hope you don’t mind sharing with two other significant events that occurred on this date – on November 7th 1989 Douglas Wilder became the first African American to be elected Governor of a US state (Virginia) and on this your 18th birthday we heard the announcement of the President Elect Biden and Vice President Elect Harris. I was filled with hope on the day you were born and remain filled with hope for you son because both history and the current moment assures me.
Happy Birthday!