HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAC!

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A mom's minor miracle today.

All five sons made it to Mass with me. No cajoling, arguing or threats...It wasn't a holiday or a feast day or Christmas or Easter...but prime time to honor one of our own...as he passed from the teens to the twenties...My second son today turned 20.

We call him Mac or Mackie for short...but He carries my maiden name McCall into the future-along with his clever mind and savvy, unpredictable wit...Mac is quiet and unassuming, but he makes a statement with his good looks and unusual flair for dress...When he was just four-a photographer snapped his picture and the next day he stood smiling in the newspaper, baseball cap backwards, plaid shirt and jeans, sweatshirt tied around his waste...spilling silly putty all over the schoolyard...which by the way is where he also attracted the many felines who used to call our house in the fourth grade...Can you imagine?

For as long as I can remember, Mac's been a chick magnet...But he was born too cool to care and I think that's his formula for staying one step ahead of the girls and the game...He's cunningly shrewd, primed for business and perfectly suited to save every penny while convincing you he's broke. Some people are born with the wisdom of ingenuity and the gift of charming the pants and your pocketbooks off of you.

We have a special bond-a knowing that neither can deny...from shared experiences and the school of hard Knox...But I have to say-I'm looking forward to watching the evolution of his journey into manhood and making it on his own...Because he never whines or wants or complains about what he doesn't have or isn't getting...I can see the wheels churning upstairs, figuring it out and figuring that he can do it...even if it's easier to have it done for him...except of course when his clothes are dirty or he's missed the dinner bell at school.

Mac's youngest brother Zach squeezed my arm in Mass saying, "I like it when everyone is here...It feels good." I had just been thinking the same thing...How good it felt for my sons to be praying together, how blessed we are...and how-even in the midst of the trials and tribulations of life...the big blessings bounce into our lives at exactly the right time-just in time to make us breathe in a measure of relief, while exhaling a ton of gratitude at the little things that make all the difference in the world.

Watching their happy faces at the birthday boy's dinner warmed my heart ...and when I asked him about his big day...He nodded, "It was a bomb!" In case you don't know it-that means good-very good. What more can I ask for?!

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