Wednesday, May 7, 2008

J is for. . .

justin. second born. boy-child.

who will be 21 this year. and just so you fully appreciate the significance of that statement:

he was such a sweet baby. now he's an angst-filled young adult. it happens to the best of them to be sure.

justin was born with a crippling disorder called arthrogryposis. it's rare, one in about 10,000 births. but i swear, he never let it stop him. i remember running into an aide at his elementary school and she said, "oh! are you justin's mom? i saw him at the top of the jungle gym the other day and. . ." i put my hand up. i couldn't bear to hear any more. his early attitude would be his salvation as he got older but at that moment, combined with the immature judgement of a 6 year old it was pretty dangerous. :)

he's a good kid. really good. sassy, mouthy but witty with a great sense of humor.

if you don't know the story of his beginnings, you can read it here but my bandwidth limit is pretty low so if more than a few of you click and go it won't be available for a while. and you might need a tissue. just a warning. please keep in mind most of the story was written by an 18 year old me - new mom, scared shitless, bad with punctuation and grammar. :)

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Seriously. Dude has a *pink* blanket wrapped around him. Oh, Justin, I had no idea they did these atrosities to you... a manly blanket shall be thought up, pronto... and cheesecake.

Anonymous said...

I've read that story, Melly, dearest. It's wonderful and heart-wrenching all at once.

And wow! Look how young you were! I think you're even more gorgeous now...and certainly sassier!

Melinda

Anonymous said...

what a wonderful gift of 21 years...Happy Birthday Justin, whenever it is. Your family is much stronger because of all you've survived - makes you appreciate life so much more.
Great pie today Melly...keep them coming - I'll always be a taster for your masterpieces.
Always, Robin

Clara said...

How blessed you are to still have your son after all the horrible things he, and you, have had to go thru. It's amazing that he can still have such a wonderful smile. He's beautiful - and so are you.