Joseph Claude Welch –March 7, 1998 — End of the Day for March 6, 2014

In just a few hours my son will be 16 years old. Back in 1998, at this time of night, a few hours after a baby shower at Rosanne’s office — and to our great surprise, her contractions started. It was 2 weeks before the due date and we weren’t really prepared with what was about to happen. Around midnight we headed to the hospital and at 324am Joe was born. This wasn’t one of those drawn out deliveries of hours and days. He was in our lives almost before we knew it. His grandmother didn’t even make it up from Orange County before he was born. He was in a hurry and can be much the same today.

1998

Of course, the next morning I had to send out my sister to buy diaper, sheets and host of other supplies. I was expecting a good 2 weeks to get everything finalized and in order. The crib still set in boxes on the floor of what was to be (and still is) Joe’s room. Still only about a day and a half later, both Rosanne and he were at home and we started a new part of our lives together.

I can’t honestly say I remember much of what those first few weeks were like. There was little sleep and more than a little frustration, but we all made it though relatively unscarred. So much has happened since then and all the memories crowd together. One moment is a new born, the next he is crawling, then walking, the running, then elementary school and now high school. When you think about it beforehand, 18 years seems a long, long time, but as nearly every parent says, it always arriving much sooner than expected. Sometimes you are so busy living life that you don’t notice the days going past and the future arrives very, very suddenly.

Around 2000-2001

Already we are starting to receive flyers for colleges all over the country. We are talking about PSAT and SAT tests, college trips (we have already done a couple on our own) and where Joe might live once he starts college. He is very quickly becoming an adult and shows more and more of that every day. He can still be a kid sometimes, but then he will says something very adult, intelligent or profound and I quickly realize he is no longer that tiny little person I met that night 16 years ago.

December 2005

2014

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