"...take your shoes off " I've been yelling this phrase from my bedroom, my office, my kitchen, family room & laundry room to the front hall, oh, for about 18 years. My oldest son (we have 4) is 18 and he's graduating from high school tonight and going off to Penn State in the fall.  I have such mixed emotions. I take full blame and responsibility for not picking a darker color for our staircase runner but is it really that hard to remember to take your shoes off before stepping on it? This is about my 18 year old so I'm not going to get into my 14 year old and his muddy rain boots (literally leaves a size 9 muddy footprint on each and every step and then looks at me like "what's the problem, relax, mom")...

Ok, seriously...the runner has survived and in all honesty, who cares, right?  I'm so proud of the industrious man Kevin has become, my sweet little boy who was so into spending all his time with mommy...the little boy who was so perceptive he would give me food for thought on a regular basis...the little boy who, at 13, started his own business, Rhythm Wax Co., selling skateboard wax to stores making us proud...my adorable son who went from 5 feet to 6 feet tall overnight...my brilliant son with the incredibly crafty sense of humor...and most importantly, my lovely son who cares and has true compassion for others.

The time flies by in a flash and before you know it, they are 18 and going away...and you realize you too are 18 years older, yikes!

I'll be back on thursday; I have a luncheon to host and my younger son graduates from 8th grade tomorrow...xocc ♥