Over the weekend our family celebrated Mason’s birthday, who turns 21 years old today.

No matter how old we get, I don’t think our brains are wired to ever see our kids as adults. Logically I understand that today Mason is 21, but… my brain just can’t seem to comprehend the fact. I worry about Mason driving to Norman late at night and worry when he goes out of town with his friends, and in the same breath I realize that Susan and I were younger than Mason is today when we took our first road trip to see the Grand Canyon, and when we drove to Chicago together for the first time, and even when we moved in together. Susan and I were only 20 years old when we started working at the FAA. I can look at the numbers a thousand times and they never seem to add up.

Mason hasn’t decided on a career path yet. Lately he’s been into baking, and he is a whiz at every stringed instrument he picks up. As a kid I remember teachers and adults telling me I could be anything I wanted to be when I grew up, and if there was something I could share with him it would be the same thing. Mason is smart and funny and incredibly detail oriented. We can’t wait to see what he chooses to do and how high he soars.

We were blessed with two of the greatest kids a couple could have, and no words can truly convey how proud we are of them both. Happy birthday, Bubba.