Through My Eyes

For the first time in my life, I noticed every boy I saw yesterday. I had a 5:00 pm haircut appointment and I was about 15 minutes early. So, I made a lap inside the mall of Abilene. Had I wanted to get a cardio workout too, I would have taken off my dress shoes and donned a pair of tennis shoes and walked at a quick pace...much like the 5 or 6 old people I saw. I digress.

Anyway, as I walked through the mall, I paid close attention to every boy I saw - from the smallest child to the high school senior. As I noticed each one of them, I couldn't help but wonder what my soon-to-be baby boy would look and act like when he is their age. The more I walked, the more depressed I became. I kept encountering guys with multiple tattoo's, guys with piercings in places that shouldn't be and guys with shorts that couldn't seem to stay on their hips.

Now I know fashion trends are not what they used to be. So, I got to thinking. What if I were to put myself in their place at that appropriate age? Here's probably what I would have seen:

- The 2006 2nd grader with a buzz cut and jeans with holes in the knees would be replaced by me in 1978 with hair that covered my ears and toughskin jeans with a t-shirt portraying a Texas Rangers decal ironed on the front.

- The 2006 7th grader with baggy clothes and bushy hair would be replaced by me in 1983 with Lee jeans and an OP t-shirt with hair parted down the middle and feathered back.

- The 2006 high school senior with his hat on crooked and an obscene t-shirt would be replaced by me in 1988 with a nasty, dirty University of Kentucky cap (I wore that everywhere I went for a solid year) and a pair of Jams shorts.

Now who knows what the fashion trends will be in 2015 when my boy is in 2nd grade or in 2020 when he is in 7th grade or in 2025 when he's a senior. I know Iwon't be able to influence the fashion trends as he grows up, but I do hope I am able to influence his heart and make him into the kind of man that someday hears the Lord say, "Well done my good and faithful servant."

The Words That Make A Daddy Proud

...."It's a boy! NO DOUBT ABOUT IT!"

The Next Lavender

With a new baby on the way, everyone always asks me the same question.

"What are you hoping for -- a boy or a girl?"

For the longest time, I've always wanted a boy. I am the last male Lavender in the family so the name dies with me if I'm unable to deliver. However, over the past several years, I've had the priveledge of being around a lot of Shawna's girls on the basketball team. So, I can easily picture my life with a "daddy's girl".

On Friday, March 10, Shawna and I go for our four week check-up and fully expect Dr. Onger to send us over for a sonogram either that day or early next week. It's likely that this time next week we'll know whether we're having a boy or girl. In the meantime, to answer everyone's question, here's my answer: I don't care if it is a boy or a girl. All I want is the following:

-- Please let the baby have his/her mother's good looks

-- Please let the baby have his/her mother's personality

-- Please let the baby have his/her mother's athletic ability

-- Please let the baby have his/her mother's temper

-- Please let the baby have his/her mother's sense of humor

-- Please let the baby have his/her mother's heart

-- Please let the baby have his/her mother's perspective on life

-- Please let the baby have his/her mother's maturity level

-- Please let the baby have his/her mother's smarts

and finally...

-- Please, please, please, please, please let the baby have my teeth!