Pat Williams aka Cletch

It feels like yesterday when I arrived at the hospital 2 weeks overdue with a planned inducement. I was no longer afraid of going through labor; the discomfort of being huge had remedied the fear quickly. After hours of the “drip,” labor contractions were still glaringly absent and the doctors informed me that a caesarian was mandatory. Soon after, I was holding my 10 pound 6 ounce baby, listening to the nurses joke that I had given birth to a 3 month old. I’ve been in love ever since.

Here we are exactly 15 years later and I am struck with how independent he is becoming. I’m very proud of the young man he’s growing into and the beautiful masterpieces he’s painting with his life.

In commemoration of his birthday today, I am posting a newspaper piece I wrote. This article was the first of what became a column called “Growth Spurts.” My articles on parenting appeared in the Wasaga, Stayner & Angus Sun in Ontario, Canada in the mid to late 90’s.

Growth Spurts in Relationships

(yup, he's the tall one in the picture below)