April 28, 2014: The First Son

A feast with the oldest child

I do have an oldest child. An older brother to Ben and to Grant. That would be Zachary Scott; the first born.

I don't blog as much about him. Not intentional, just out of sight sometimes means out of mind. And Zach is perfectly fine with that. Where Ben is a peacock, Zach is very comfortable flying below radar. Always quick with wit and never one to miss a party, but also not wanting to be the center of attention.

Zach has a milestone coming up. His Big 2-1 is this Wednesday. True to his reliable 20 year old self, he came over to help me out tonight. After work, he ran his youngest brother to an orthodontist appointment and then shopping for confirmation attire. Following an impressive mow job on my overgrown grass, I treated Zach to dinner and a tank of gas.

Tonight we dined on pizza and wings while watching the hockey playoff games at Oscar's. As a well-schooled mom of boys, I've got this venue licked. Two days shy of 21, Zach stuck to his Diet Coke while I enjoyed my Blue Moon with hockey brawls illuminating in the background.

I reminded Zach of his age of 20 years and 363 days. Two days short of enjoying a beer. Did he wish he could be enjoying a beer, was my question. His deadpan answer was, not with his mom.

Hmmmmm...fair enough.

On St. Patrick's Day, Zach met his brothers and me for a dinner at the Outback. With an April birthday, Zach is one of the last of his group of friends to turn 21. As his friends text him on their Patty's Day shenanigans, Zach sat next to me in his green Irish soccer jersey.

"I bet your friends are jealous that you're spending St. Patty's Day with your mom!" I kidded my underage oldest.

Zach just stared at me, finding no humor in my obvious comment.

Tonight I asked Zach if Garrett and I could join him for a quick birthday celebration on Wednesday. With a pause and some dialogue on previous plans made, I deduced that Zach has it covered. He did offer a window of 4:00 - 5:00 if we wanted to stop over. Maybe.

One more month in Omaha and then Zach will move to the big city of Denver. I am very excited for this first born child of mine. A new journey for a newly minted 21 year-old. And based on the conversation between wings and the hockey brawls, the enthusiasm is genuine.