Tag Archives: dean

Happy (Gulp) 17th Birthday to My Son

Posted on October 16, 2016 | 4 comments

The year was 1999.

Lance Armstrong won his first Tour de France title.

The euro was established as the standardized currency unit across the nations of Europe. (Nearly two decades later, Great Britain still embraces the pound. As well as tepid beer. But that’s beside the point.)

The world braced itself for the perceived technological apocalypse known as Y2K.

Advancements like Bluetooth, MySpace and Napster were just being introduced. (Also known as a means of confusing people everywhere as to whom you’re speaking, slacking off at work and, well, stealing.)

Groundbreaking shows like Friends, Frasier, ER and The X-Files were still producing and airing original episodes on prime-time television.

Moviegoers were lining up to see the highly-anticipated Stars Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace as well as blockbusters like The Sixth Sense, American Beauty and American Pie. (I only saw the last three. Unapologetically. That may never change, Dean.)

And YOU … you made me a mom … changing my life forever when you were born on October 16, 1999.

I just can’t believe you’re 17 today, Dean.

I still remember your first words and your first steps … yes, they came in that order. You did it opposite of everyone else in the world. You could speak full sentences but opted to be carried through life just a little bit longer. (Personally, I thought it was a sign of brilliance.)

You were a great eater, but you were a terrible sleeper. (I guess some things never change.) You had a belly laugh that people couldn’t help themselves but join. Your favorite audience was your baby sister. You’d spend hours working to make her laugh. And inventing nonsensical nicknames for her. I honestly believe you tagged her with over a hundred of them. (Mrs. Baybo, to name only one.) Stay close to her, Dean. You mean more to her than words could ever say.

Your dedication to your studies, your family and friends, your pet and your need to just be a good person are humbling for your dad and me to watch as your parents. Somewhere along the line, we know we obviously did something right. Thank you for that, Dean.

Stay the course. You are poised for greatness in the world. Everyone around you seems to know that except you. As much as it truly pains me to watch you grow older and slowly distance yourself from your childhood, I relish the opportunity to watch you develop into the amazing adult I am certain you’ll be.

I know I drive you crazy sometimes. The feeling is mutual, my boy. That’s all part of growing up. For both of us. The important thing is that you know your dad and I are always and forever here for you. If you ever need anything at all … day or night … near or far … sane or insane, all you have to do is pick up the phone. Or whatever the communication method of the future will be. We’ll learn how to use it. For you and your sister.

I love you, Dean.

Happy 17th Birthday!!!

Past birthday posts about Dean:

A Letter to My Son on His 16th Birthday

15 Reasons I Love My Son (on his 15th Birthday)

Happy Birthday, Dean

Happy Birthday to the One Who Made Me a Mom

Thanks, NFL, for enlightening my son … but I’m taking some of the credit, too

4 Comments

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged 1999, birthday, dean, events, seventeeth, son

NINE Words That Come Up Often at ODNT

Posted on June 14, 2014 | 1 comment

After my recent post this week about Johnny Depp’s birthday, I started thinking to myself about the other recurring subject matter here at ODNT. And wondering just how recurring some of it actually was. And after I was done wondering, I began worrying. “Good Gosh, Michele,” said my very dorky, Ned Flanders-y inner voice, “I’d hate to think that you’re a one-trick-pony. Are you offering a diverse enough menu to your readers?” (Again, my inner voice is a HUGE dork.)

So, in the interest of appeasing my dorky side, let’s take a look at how often some of my most popular keywords showed up around here, shall we?

Alec Baldwin – 11
Musical Theater – 14
Johnny Depp – 19
Hamster – 27
Dean – 37
Vivien – 43
Ketchup – 66
Cheese – 95
Cat – 254

So Ketchup beat out the kids. Well, I guess that’s no big surprise. It IS a recurring theme around here. And, of course, cheese topped that. (distracted) Cheese-topped. (drool) Damn it. Now I’m hungry.

But that THIS freak show conquered everything to be my most recurring topic of conversation? Well, I guess we know who the cat lady’s gonna be in my neighborhood in a few decades.

June is Blog Post by Numbers Month. Wanna play with Mel and me? Just write a “listy-type” post with a number in the title (ex. FOUR Reasons I Love Mayonnaise, SIX Things You Can Do With A Paper Clip). Then link back to us and tweet us about it so we can include you on June 30th in our final list: (Number-Yet-To-Be-Determined) Great Bloggers Who Played the Blog Post by Numbers Game!

1 Comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged Alec Baldwin, blog by numbers game, Cat, cat lady, cheese, dean, hamster, johnny depp, ketchup, musical theater, vivien

Happy Birthday, Dean

Posted on October 16, 2013 | 12 comments

Dean is fourteen today.

And I’m not really sure how we got here. His feet outgrew mine years ago. There is no heel height I can wear that brings me even close to his now-towering presence. He can pick me up effortlessly. No one would ever mistake his voice on the phone for mine or his sister’s anymore. He is becoming a man. Right in front of my eyes.

It’s challenging to write about him here so I typically don’t. Unlike my daughter, who would gladly grab the keyboard from me to type her own guest post, he’s more of a private person. And I intend always to respect that about him. So I’ll just share a couple of old videos I found of him at age three talking up a storm alongside his still-very-silent sidekick-and-little-sister, Vivien. I get teary every time I watch them. He was such a little chatter monkey.

A year ago today, I wrote about Dean’s birth story. It’s not all the nitty-gritty details. Just the important stuff like what I was watching on TV when I went into labor and what I yelled at the nurse at the moment of truth. And I’m sharing it here again today. Maybe I’ll do that every October 16th. After all, it was a life-changing day.