Twelve [12].......

Our little Jack, not so little anymore, is 12 today! Since he will be gone tonight we had his little family birthday party at 7:30 this morning complete with cards, cake and one present. Not that he is deprived and only received one gift, but he discovered several more yesterday and got them then. This included a new jacket for knocking around in and a spectacular flat screen video monitor capable of carrying feeds from computer, TV, DVD and PlayStation. I hope that We He enjoys it!

Several nights ago while his Mother was out at another of her "girl" Christmas parties, Jack and I had a nice bedside chat about growing up and the responsibilities involved. A heart to heart talk where I described some of the pitfalls I had encountered and the talk where I warned him that if he tried any of the things I used to do he would be grounded until he left for college. He is truly a gem and I couldn't have asked for a better step-son, I love him dearly.

In addition to his little party this morning we took him out to the newly reopened Johnnie's Bar-B-Que last night. Johnnies, as I've written before, is a Midland legend that recently caught fire and just reopened on Monday. For local folks, it has not changed a whit except that now it looks and smells clean, but this did not ruin our dining experience. The only sad part of the fire was that Johnnie lost all of the mementoes that been hung on the walls over the decades. I asked the manager if we might bring some new memories in to hang, and he said he would be most appreciatative.