Thomas

Today is Thomas's 29th birthday. He is about as middle as one could be in a family - he is the third of five children with both an older brother and an older sister and a younger brother and a younger sister. But anything else about Thomas is definitely not middle of the road. He is a first rate kind of guy in every significant way.


Thomas is the father who plays pirate with his kids on an evening when his wife is out. Plays pirate with all the fun props  - the skulls and bones dug out of the Halloween box along with other pirate bits - and honestly enjoys it. And then baths the kids and puts them to bed with a story after saying prayers.

Thomas is the guy who loves the outdoors - rock-climbing, hiking, backpacking, camping, snowboarding.He is also the guy who learned how to drywall by watching youtube videos and then did his basement - and it looks great! Really. And made cool light fixtures for their home out of odd parts. And they look great too. Really.


Thomas is the son who uses a day off work to spend the entire day (from 8:00 AM-10:30 PM) helping us with our recent interior painting project. The brother that helps build decks or paint or work on renovation projects. The chemical engineer who paints beautiful pictures.


He is a man who is honest and ethical and trustworthy, absolutely. Who is committed to his family, his God, and his faith. Thomas is the man who will stay the course. He is fun, funny, loving, strong, nerdy sometimes and cool always. 


In response to a birthday email I sent him this morning he said:
Moms should really be given something on their children's b-days.  After all it was YOU who did all the hard work on this day 29 years ago!  
What he doesn't know is that he is the gift - he was the gift 29 years ago and he is every time I see him. I love him so, so much. 

Happy Birthday Thomas!