Happy Birthday and Happy New Year

The two phrases are inseparable -- and have been ever since we adopted Jordan back in 1988. He was born Dec. 31, 1987, and he came into our lives the following May.

Today he turned 22. I got off the phone with him a short while ago. He was munching on one of his favorite foods -- cheese pizza -- and taking a break with Jamie from the process of moving into their own place in El Paso. Funny how we've managed to reduce the number of boxes we had to maneuver around when we moved into our condo, and now they're having to do the same.

I don't think I've ever been any prouder of Jordan than I have been this year. It may sound trite to say it, but he has gone from teenager (even at 20 and 21) to young man since joining the military and, later, joining lives with Jamie as a married couple. He sounds more focused, more mature on the phone. We saw evidence of the maturation process when we traveled to Georgia this summer to see him graduate from basic training.

So now we wait with him as he awaits word of whether he will be part of the class accepted for Special Forces training in North Carolina. A last-minute paperwork screw-up (a clerical error, not his fault) prevented him from submitting a complete packet this week; he has to wait until Monday and hope the Army puts him with the group he's trained with for the past few weeks. Otherwise, it's wait for a new ship date to N.C., but with an entirely different group of soldiers.

Our good friends, Sue and Eric, are coming over for what promises to be a wild New Years Eve. We'll have a cioppino (fish stew) dinner, followed by board games. It's nice to be the hosts. Don't have to travel anywhere. Get to sleep in tomorrow, make some chili beans and watch the Rose Bowl.

Photo: Jordan and Jamie in Columbus, Ga.,July 2009.