nicu bay 20

I am sitting here with Porter while he fills out the paperwork to take his driver’s test.

Porter will turn 19 in just a couple of weeks.

At this point over the past 19 years, I have said all this ad nauseum. But I am going to say it all again.

I remember sitting in NICU Bay 20 at the University of Iowa Hospital about a week after Porter was born. It seemed like the monitors were going off constantly and I remember thinking “God, thank you for letting me be his mom for a week at least.”

Oh Caroline, oh ye of little faith.

This firstborn of ours has astounded me at every. single. turn.

And this man— this man who wasn’t satisfied to have made the waitlist at UGA his first year, who really did want to show UGA he belonged there— this man will be attending the Honors College at UGA this Fall. We move him in on Friday.

This man that is brilliant. And gentle. And kind. And loves his pup. And his friends. And his family.

This man that fiercely loves his Mom.

There are no words for how very proud I am of Porter.

I wish I could go back and tell that 2006 version of myself all about the astounding things that baby would go on to accomplish. That breathing and a steady heart rate were just the start.