Phinnaeus at 17...

This week, Phinnaeus turns 17.  How did that happen?  It was just last week he was this little guy on his tricycle.  Wasn't it just last week?  All of a sudden he has gone from a riding a tricycle, to getting his driver's license.  Really, how did that happen?

Phinnaeus came into this world with a huge personality.  I remember at one family dinner, when he was three years-old, he grandly announced to everyone, "I love all the people I know, and I don't love all the people I don't know."  Well, yes, you can't argue with that.  It made perfect sense to me.  Phinnaeus also has a wonderful intellectual curiosity, and he once made the profound statement, "I can hardly wait to learn about all the things in the world there are to learn."  I remember when Phinnaeus was around the age of two, he was obsessed with garbage trucks.  But of course, to a small child, garbage trucks are huge, noisy, mysterious things.  His way of dealing with them was to learn everything there was to learn about them.  I used to laugh every time he saw one -- "G'bage truck!" He's probably forgotten about that now.

Phinnaeus is a good person, with a good integrity.  He was born with his moral compass set for due north.  I recognized that when he was a very little boy.  The first thing he wants to do when he turns 17 is to donate blood.  Can you imagine?  Something like that would never even have occurred to me at the age of 17.  Phinnaeus says it's his way of being able to donate something to the community.  He has also taken it upon himself to read the Bible -- cover to cover -- just out of curiosity.  My father did the same thing when he was that age.  I often see strong links between Phinnaeus and my father, and I think some of my father's DNA was passed down to Phinnaeus, along with the reddish hair.  Phinnaeus also has a wicked sense of humour, and sense of the ridiculous.  I think that will serve him well throughout his lifetime.  To be able to see the humour in any situation is truly a gift.  Phinnaeus will be finishing high school next year, and he's still grappling with the idea of what he wants to do.  He has considered studying law, and we all think he would be a natural lawyer.  No one can split a hair the way Phinnaeus can.  Whatever he does, he will do it well.

Phinnaeus is on the border of manhood, and his parents deserve to be very proud of him.  He's a lot of fun, and he's a good person.  And I think his moral compass will always be set for due north.

Happy Birthday, Phinnaeus!