We had the greatest time ever, yesterday. The beach looked like it was going to suck, as a huge fog bank rolled in while we were unloading the car, but it blew out just as fast leaving clear blue skies and sand so hot it burned your feet if you weren't careful.
There was much boogie boarding, skim boarding, throwing of the tiny Nerf football, and the obligatory rash on the inner thighs. I am so sore today, the first thing I said when I woke up was, "Man, I really hurt my old yesterday."
When we got home from the beach to get cleaned up for dinner, I opened up my laptop to see if anyone had joined me in wishing Nolan happy birthday, and discovered 56 comments. I called him over so he could see, and I couldn't tell what excited him more: that I mentioned his birthday in my blog, or that so many people posted so many kind wishes for him. If you're a parent, you probably know that particular joy you get when you see your child light up with happiness, right? I got to see a whole lot of that yesterday, and I just wanted to thank everyone who took a minute to wish him well. WWdN reader Clay's comment about hitting old ladies in crosswalks was one of his favorites, and was repeated to several of his friends at dinner last night.
Right now, there are 91 comments, from all over the world, in several different languages, all wishing my little guy (sorry, he'll always be my little guy) happiness and joy. This is one of those things that I'll print out and make into a little booklet for him, and it means a lot to me, as his stepdad, that you all helped make him smile just a little bit bigger yesterday.
We took him to this teppanyaki restaurant where they sing an awesomely obnoxious birthday song (to the tune of Whalers on the Moon, as it turns out) and give away a wonderfully silly crown, which he wore until he went to sleep last night, even while we were playing Guitar Hero 2. Nolan totally owned me, and we both realized that, with Ryan away at college, Nolan is now the best Guitar Hero player in the house . . . I really need to practice Jordan on Expert more. (For those of you scoring at home, our favorite song in the entire game is "Yes We Can" by Made in Mexico. It's weird and silly and totally awesome, and we both thought the best practical joke ever would be making the main phrase of the song just repeat over and over again without ever ending. It'd be pretty funny to see how long people would keep playing before they realized something hinky was going on).
This morning, Nolan's dad picked him up for his annual weekly vacation with him, so Anne and I are totally empty-nesters this week. I'm always miss him when he goes for the week, but it's especially tough this year; I wish he was coming with me to PAX, because if there was a con that was designed specifically for him, this one is it.
