I love the photo below of him and I so much. Oh the beautiful memories, of when he use to jump off the back of the couch 50 times a day and continually play with Thomas the tank engine.
As his mum, I feel sad about this day knowing that he's grown so much and is now a young adult. But at the same time, happy for him that lots of exciting opportunities and changes lie ahead. The funny thing about your children getting older, is often they are well ready for the changes that come with age, but the parents are not.
Unfortunately, Hayden spent his 18th birthday sick with a really heavy cold, but it was actually nice to have him home from school all day. He got to celebrate with a big KFC lunch! We had no family gatherings as our house is totally germ city at the moment and we didn't want to risk anyone getting sick.
Hayden is quiet and reserved most of the time, and these days he definitely doesn't like his photo being taken. But here is another favourite photo of mine below. Uncle Travis is popping over with his new camera on Saturday and I am going to insist I need an updated pic of him for this post!
Currently Hayden has only 5 months of school left. He attends Westlake Boys High School. He has a great group of friends and particularly enjoys hanging out with them at lunch time (I think the social aspect is the main reason he likes school so much) At the moment he doesn't know what he wants to do when he leaves school.
His two best church friends are Jayden and Simon. They get together regularly to play basketball and go eat some where (usually pizza or KFC).
Hayden is the giant in our family. He is twice the size of Tony and he gets comments all the time that he would make a great rugby player or body guard. Dad's shoe size is 9 and Hayden's is 12! Other mums often tell me how lucky I am that when I got out at night, all I need to do is take Hayden with me and I'll be perfectly safe. Even in the last year Hayden has had another growth spurt.
Currently Hayden's two biggest passions in life are basketball and play station.
His favourite fast food is Burger King. He gets a craving for it once a week and orders the same thing every time. Since I'm always the one taking him through the drive-thru, I can say his order in my sleep :)
Although he's super quiet and often doesn't say much, Hayden has a very big, kind, caring heart and he always does the right thing. He's never done anything silly or foolish, which we are very grateful for. The only time he doesn't do the right thing is when he constantly eats all the ice-cream in the freezer. Our whole family knows ice-cream won't last long with Hayden around!
As my oldest son, he always defends me and looks out for me which makes me very proud. The other day I was quite upset about something (shedding a few tears) and Hayden showed great concern and was extremely caring. It is one of the most touching things for a mother when their teenage sons openly show how much they care about you.
As always, Grandma and Grandpa gave Hayden a call on his birthday and they had a nice chat.
The biggest surprise of the day came when Nana popped over to drop off her gift. Hayden had no idea what she was giving him. I told him when he first woke that Nana had a gift he'd really like and Hayden replied, "Do you promise, are you sure I'll like it, it's not a book is it, or something to do with basketball?". I didn't budge on any questions and just reassured him he would like it.
Below Nana's special card and letter to Hayden. Both mum and I thought about taking a video when he went to read the letter out loud to us, but we decided it was better to enjoy the moment with our eyes, instead of through a lens. Hayden doesn't show much emotion and he doesn't smile a lot, but the smile that broke out on his face as he took in what the letter said, was just the best. The smile lit up his whole face, it was so cool to see.
25th June 2020
Dear Hayden,
I hope you have a wonderful 18th birthday with your family and friends.
I have been thinking for some time now that I wanted to do something really special for you this birthday.
Something that you would always remember and would make you really happy.
I want to give you $5000 (five thousand dollars) so you can buy your first car.
You will need 'wheels' to get to work and you also need to be independent and to be able to get to your friends places and to the gym or your basketball games, etc.
Let me know when you are ready to go car shopping with Mum and Dad.
I have been looking on trade-me and you can get a reasonable car for that money. It will be your first car so it won't be perfect, but as you save your money from your job, you can buy something better.
I love you very much Hayden and want only the best for you.
Be good,
Be kind,
Be happy.
Work hard and your life will be good.
Please always keep this letter and know that I am always here for you.
Lots and lots of love,
From Nana xxx
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