To Jim on His 15th Birthday

Jim,

Last night—the night before you turned 15—I spent way too much time trying to figure out what we needed to do for you to get your Learner’s Permit. Besides the fact that the State of Tennessee unsurprisingly has woefully inefficient websites, I was struck by the fact that sometime in the next few weeks I will be sitting next to you as you drive a car.

Now I completely trust you. Although you did recently say something to the effect of “How hard could driving be? I do it in Mario Kart all the time.” That terrified me slightly. Then we had one of our conversations where I came at you with logic, you doubled down with stubbornness, I pivoted into absurdity, and that finally made you crack a smile. We have a lot of conversations like that and I enjoy them. But I digress. Once you learn the basics of driving, I have no doubt that you are going to be a safe and responsible young man behind the wheel. I’m just having more trouble with the fact that you are going to be a young man behind the wheel.

Fifteen. As that number has approached, you have dangled this upcoming age out there in some sort of attempt to make mine and your mom’s head explode. Every kid probably does that when they sense they are getting to an age that once seemed impossible to their parents. Your mom has usually responded by denying that it was going to happen. I usually look you square in the eye and stoically assert that I know how the math works. But the truth is it is kind of hard to believe you are fifteen. It is here that I am starting to hear the clock tick on you one day going off to college..

That ticking clock is why I am looking forward to the summer we have ahead of us. It is the summer of the Switch 2. We finally (finally!) get a new Superman movie that you and I have been anticipating and about which we have been dissecting every trailer and piece of news. But most of all, just the two of us are going to Disney World while your mom and brother go on a school trip. And as much as I love those theme parks, I am so much more excited about getting to spend a week with you. You are an incredible young man and I am grateful for any time that I get to spend with you.

What else can I say? You are a kind and loyal friend. You are incredibly intelligent. In your mind is a galaxy of creativity and I need you to finish polishing your book so I can read/edit it. You let your mom and I know that you love us and still let us hug you. I see those moments when you are a good big brother even though you may not want to admit it. You are nearly as good as I am at Mario Kart, which makes that a lot more fun. It is very easy to push your buttons which is also fun (am I working on a song about you to the tune of Taylor Swift’s “Fifteen” that I will deploy on you at the opportune time?). You have compassion for others. You try your best to do the right thing.

Jim, my prayer is that you will always know how much you are loved. By God, Mom, me, Liam, your grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and so many more people. I know the world can feel lonely sometimes, but there are so many of us who are ridiculously grateful to have you in our lives. So even though I wish time would slow down, keep growing. Keep pushing yourself, keep finding ways to bring light into this world, and never stop being you. Happy Birthday Jim! I am so grateful that I get to share life with you.

Love,
Dad