Homecoming

There are moments in my life that I know I will cherish forever. Last night was one of those moments for me. I love being dude's mom -- through the good and the not so good -- and am proud and in awe of him every day of his life. Watching him grow into such an amazing young man well, it overwhelms me. The pride and love and joy are just so intense on nights like last night that my cup truly runneth over, all is right in my world and my heart is just so happy. It's bittersweet watching him change into a young man. I long for the days when he was little and would snuggle with me in his feetie jammies while we read books, I could tuck him into bed and watch him sleep...where I was in control of setting limits and what he was exposed to. Now I have to trust that all those millions of little things add up to creating a young man that has self respect, treats others with kindness and can make good decisions when everyone around him isn't.

Last night was like watching all of it come together -- even if only for a moment -- the way he carries himself with such confidence, watching him shake her father's hand and ask "how are you sir," hug her mother and treat Kaleigh with such affection, respect and kindness was truly an amazing experience. Earlier that morning at the cross country meet, Kaleigh's mother shared with me that she's been asking around about Colton...trying to find out if there's anything negative they need to know so they, like I, can watch out for their child, and she said that no one had anything but amazing things to say about Colton. He's a great young man, he's smart, he's funny, he's kind, he's good...all the things I know about him to be true are still true even when I'm not around -- very reassuring, yet not surprising. Last night was amazing, incredible and will remain in my heart for my entire life. Colton is an extraordinary young man and his friends are no different -- bright, talented young men and women that are good to their core -- and it makes me incredibly happy that he surrounds himself with people that are like him.

After photos, the group went out to dinner and then danced until 11 p.m. Annette and I chaperoned and had a great time acting as the "kissing" police. I think our final score was Annette "2 million," me maybe five. We steared clear of Dude for the most part so he could enjoy himself without feeling like we were watching over his shoulder. It was a super fun night and he and Kaleigh had a wonderful time.

We met up with our friend, Dieter, for lunch and afterwards he taught Colton how to knot his tie. Thanks Dieter!

With Kaleigh.

Kaleigh's father helped her with Colton's bouteniere. It ended up taking the help of Annette and I to finally get that bad boy secured!

Everyone met before dinner at a gorgeous old mansion in Cartersville for photos.

With Brett and Brandon -- both run cross country with dude.

All but one in this group shot are friends Colton made through his cross country team.

What a gentleman!

And we're off!

Kayla's date, Nathan, drove seperately (he's a senior and she's a sophomore and her parents weren't comfortable with him driving her around) so Kayla rode with us to dinner and the dance. You can tell dude didn't mind too much!