Wednesday 29 April 2009

Regarding Nathan No. 2


















My only son and youngest child is 26 today. Where has the time gone?

Nathan is in his last year of his teaching practicum and is teaching Grade 7. He really cares about his students and will make a fantastic teacher. As a matter of fact today is the last day of his practicum and even though it is his birthday, he is having a party for the students.

Do you want to meet Nathan? I’m sure you do.

http://circlingmyhead.blogspot.com/2008/04/regarding-nathan.html

He is my only son, my third child, my closing act of motherhood. Nathan thank you for the privilege.

Happy Birthday Nathan. Love Mom, Dad, Angelique, Nadalene, and Josephine.

*artwork by Kelly Vivanco

51 comments:

Kate James said...

Happy birthday to Nathan. I love your last year's post about him.

Whenever I write about my girls when they were little I get teary too. It just went by too quickly didn't it?

He sounds like a wonderful son Renee and you paint a picture of a family where family really does come first. With this and the way you capture it all in your beautiful writing you are such a role model for me. Thank you. x

Deepa Gopal said...

Me first....
Thats a very sweet post...you are One proud Mother:)
All the very best to Nathan & you,dear Renee.

Delwyn said...

I think it's wonderful that you can feel so proud of your son who is making his own mark on life - good luck teaching Nathan - the world needs more male role models in teaching.
Happy Days Renee

Caroline said...

Thank you for introducing your lovely son to us - next best thing to meeting him in person! Time really does fly, doesn't it? I can hardly believe that my baby will be 25 this Friday! Lucky you that you are able to celebrate with your family - no hope for me as Juliette (birthday girl)is is Sydney and her sister Louisa is in Dubai :(
Caroline xx

A Spoonful Of Sugar said...

Happy Birthday Nathan!! It must be wonderful to be a teacher and to be able to inspire students to have a love of learning. I bet his class loved having him there on prac - and enjoyed the double celebration!

Ruthie Redden said...

What a lovely way you have with words! a very happy birthday to nathan. precious memories indeed. my last &3rd child was my own boy after 2 girls & 10 year gap, he is an inspiration, so loving & happy & growing so fast. where does the time go!!

Ces Adorio said...

Happy Birthday Nathan! Kicjing the winning score in double overtime is specil indeed. Good luck to Nathan, the teacher. Wow, a young man who decided to teach, very rare.

(P.S. can't help notice that just last year you could not write all the letters of a certain word. Must have been befoe you became a liberal huh?)

AGAIN, IT'S NATHAN's BIRTHDAY AND HAPPY BRITHDAY TO THE COOL DUDE!

Aleks said...

Congratulations with your sons birthday dear Renee!Have a beautiful day,love from Holland

Mim said...

happy birthday Nathan!

Mim said...

Just read the first post about Nathan - how lovely your memories are. Reminds me of my younger brother - he was rather pampered by me, but I adored him...and still do!

Polly said...

Happy Birthday, Nathan!

I'm also a teacher, although a university one, that'a little different, but I know how rewarding teaching can be. I hope you'll keep enjoying it!

Tessa said...

Happy Birthday, Nathan - happy days always!

Willnnabel said...

What a handsome boy. Wow I too have one son, John, although he is 27. He is my middle child. At times I wish I had decided to try to for another boy.....nah, I am good. Gotta love em.

Thanks for coming by!!!

Daria said...

It was lovely meeting Nathan ... you sure do write well.

Manon said...

Happy Birthday to your son Nathan!!

A Cuban In London said...

Happy Birthday to Nathan! Many thanks.

Greetings from London.

soulbrush said...

what a special post and a very special son. becoming a teacher too, he is truly SPECIAL in my eyes too. happy birthday nathan and mom too. xxx

Rebecca Ramsey said...

I love your Nathan post. What a beautiful love for a son!

Anonymous said...

Renee, thank you for introducing us to Nathan. He sounds like such a warm, wonderful, charming young man. I particularly liked your "date" day and his rhyming skills - hmmmm...if teaching doesn't work out, maybe he could be a rapper!

I love family tributes! At the end of the day, that is family who are forever by our sides. It is important to honor them, and you did that beautifully!
Love audrey
xoxoxo

Noreen said...

Very touching.

Happy birthday Nathan.

Deborah said...

Happy Happy Birthday Nathan! Happy Happy Birthing Day lovely Renee!!! Boys certainly are a mother's joy...26 is a lovely age to be. **blows kisses** Deborah

Jeannine said...

Happy Birthday Nathan!!

Renee,you raised a wonderful son. He is such a warm and genuine young man. He will make such a difference in his students lives and they will be fortunate to have him as a teacher.

Love You Always
Jeannine XOXOXO

jacquie said...

omg renee

seeing that picture looked so much like nathan as a little boy .... it made me cry..
your children compliment you as a mother renee.....
nathan has always been a gentle beautiful soul, caring and unique...
i could pick nathan out in any picture just by looking at his hands or his stance......
nathan i am so proud to be your auntie jack...you have really enriched my life and now nathan you will make a big difference to as many children as you teach.
as a teacher you will help them become who they will be to a degree.....
i love you so much nathan, have a great day and a wonderful birthday ... see you tonight.

A Spoonful Of Sugar said...

I have always had an interest in Greek architecture - not sure our crafting is in quite the same league Renee- lol! My Dad had a most enjoyable birthday - and loved every moment of his party! There were about 55 people present to help him celebrate. Of course the food was awesome :) We now have 6 months to prepare for my Mum's 70th! Enjoy celebrating with your Birthday Boy!!

Jamie Lott said...

Hi Renee,

Sorry for not getting back to you right away. I'm a preschool teacher for the first half of my day and an artist for the latter half! Today I had a conference so I got out a little earlier than usual.

Please use my comment - and any future comments - on your blog! For the very same reasons you stated, I want you to. I wrote it because of what I've learned from you and I have NO problem having others read it!

Thank you Renee for sharing yourself with us. I truly feel guilty because I feel like I get so much more out of it than I could possibly ever give back!

I hope you have a wonderful day and Happy Birthday to Nathan!!

Jamie

Jamie Lott said...

Oh! And I meant to say that the woman I spoke of was not important, not only because of the nature of my relationship with her, or lack thereof, but also because anyone who speaks to me that way is not important. But I did let her get to me and affect my attitude which has a way of trickling on down to your loved ones which pisses me off. And to think, she almost cost me the confidence to give you comforting words and that pisses me off, too!

But I said to myself, 'Renee would not let something this trivial hold her back and neither will I'.

And that gave my lil pointer finger all the courage it needed to click Publish....;)

Jamie

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

Happy birthday to Nathan!! I wish him a glorious day!

And you too!

GlorV1 said...

Renee, please pass a Happy Birthday to Nathan from Gloria. Your post was beautiful. Time goes by so fast. Your son is a wonderful son and why not, he has a wonderful Mother. Have a great day Renee.

studio lolo said...

Wow, Nathan sounds like the nicest guy right from the start. I adored the post from last year. Such a beautiful picture you painted with your words, but of course I know you couldn't have done that without his shining essence. You can't make that stuff up! I'll bet he's the coolest and bestest teacher in the province! And even at age six he was quite the poet ;)
A beautiful tribute Renee for your beautiful son.
Happiest of birthdays to you, Nathan!

Never mind about my hard day yesterday. Your blog isn't a place for my woe du jours. I'll just leave love on your doorstep if that's okay ;)

xoxoxo
Lolo

kj said...

"Of course like many small children, when he saw a truck it was a #u##."

HAHAHAHA RENEE! we've come a long way in a short time.

a truckload of love to you and the happiest of birthdays to nathan.

ps i just love the names of your children.

pss do you have a canadian accent?

Shelly said...

Despite your "Homer Simpson" moments (bad boy! Here is a basket ball I bought you - and don't do anything like that ever again! smooch, smooch, smooch), you have raised an extra ordinary young man - kudos to you and Wahid.

Yoli said...

Happy Birthday Nathan, you are as wonderful and caring as your mother. He is the man, he is Renee, because of the outstanding mother he has.

Julie said...

Happy Birthday, Nathan! You rock! If teaching were a sport, 7th grade would be considered an Xtreme sport.

Ugh, Renee, I've had a rough couple weeks. But I'm back, I missed you!

Sue said...

Nathan sounds like a fabulous young man, and I'm sure so much of his character now can be attributed to his mom and dad. We love them, nurture them and cherish them, and then they set off on their own journey. And we are proud of them.

Happy Birthday wishes to Nathan, and Happy Nathan Birthday wishes to you! This post was lovely and I particularly liked this statement towards the end:

" He is my only son, my third child, my closing act of motherhood. Nathan thank you for the privilege."

Lovely!

Cheryl Cato said...

Lovely post. And again happy birthday Nathan.

And Renee, I love Ces' blog. She is a hoot! The ninja post was priceless! I teased her... hope she thought it was funny! She's so glad you can't vote here in the USA... that's okay, this yellow dog voted twice...once for me & once for you! Tee hee. Actually the G-man converted this year... yahoo! So that was the extra vote!

Kelly Kilmer said...

Happy Birthday, Nathan!!

Sarah said...

Hi Renee,
Happy birthday to Nathan, he sounds like a lovely person and a great teacher. I loved your description of him when he was younger and especially the rhyming incident!
Sarah x

Sarah Sullivan said...

Good morning hon,
Happy Birthday to your wonderful Nathan! I hope he has an amazing day!
I loved the post - made me laugh and think of Fox - trying to imagine him as an adult. K.. now am crying too. I so love your posts hon and feel blessed to have found you!! Have a wonderful day - am thinking of you!
Love and namaste, Sarah

taylor said...

Happy Birthday Nathan!

thanks again for the lesson plans; you truely will be an amazing teacher.
i always love it when i see you, i hope this year provides more fun together.

love you.
Taylor.
xoxo.

Every Photo Tells A Story said...

Happy Birthday, Nathan! I'm sure you're going to be a fine teacher, and a generous one at that.

You sound like an amazing young man, and a guy who likes cookies (I'm sure you still do) and children, is my kind of guy!

A Camille said...

Happy Birthday Nathan! Love you. Wish we could spend more time together. Your not supposed to be sick when I come in. lol

Rosaria Williams said...

Happy birthday to Nathan and welcome to the teaching field. My work with middle schoolers were the best years of my life. My eldest son teaches science in middle school; after fifteen years, he is still madly crazy about the kids.

Teaching is a gift one human can give to another. May God Bless his path.

And since he has you as his mom, God has already done that.

Marie S said...

Happy Birthday Nathan!!!

BT said...

I read every word of your last year's post and how beautifully written it was. It made me sad and cry with happiness too. I remembered my sons' childhood too, such special times. Nathan is a fine adult and I am so pleased he is going to be a teacher. Too few men become teachers and they can be such an influence on a child.
Happy Birthday Nathan.

Bella Sinclair said...

Happy Birthday, Mr. Nathan!!!

Renee, I was melting when I read about your weekly dates with your little man. Ohhhhhh, how precious and utterly priceless! Your Nathan is a gentleman and noble, through and through. How wonderful that he can inspire the younger generation. We need more people like him. See that? This is your legacy. It all comes back to you.

xoxo

Woman in a Window said...

And he still seems like a little boy through the eyes of a mother. Happy Birthday Nathan.

Anonymous said...

I loved the post about Bathan that you linked. A very happy birthdqy to a great son.

Snowbrush said...

I am so happy that you have a son in whom you can take such delight.

Gberger said...

What a beautiful song of love for your only son. I'm thanking God that you have him, that you are so close and appreciative of him, and that you shared a bit of what he is like with us. A lovely privilege. Happy Birthday, Nathan!

LaWatha said...

Happy Belated Birthday, Nathan!

I loved your last year's birthday post about him. All boy... so funny. Your tales of him remind me of my son, Chris. He's 31 now but it seems like no so long ago he too was all boy... doing all the wonderful fun mischievous things boys do.

Draffin Bears said...

Happy birthday Nathan! and how proud Renee, you must be of him.

Aren't Sons the best!

Hugs
Carolyn