Ethan the Wonder Boy

Ethan was born on February 25, 1999. That makes him 12 years old soon. In many cultures, including our LDS society, he is ready to become a man. He will receive the Priesthood at the end of the month and will be part of the Mutual Program.

Am I freaking out?

Oh yeah. Big time.

Let me give you a little history of this boy and me. He was born at my mother's home in Las Vegas with midwives attending. I was taken to the hospital afterwards with some complications, but he was a healthy 10 pounds 4 ounce boy. At 22 inches long, the nurse thought he looked more like a 3 month old. What can I say? I breed them big. He was a little fussy at first, allergic to everything I wanted to eat, but eventually this little foreigner and I got along swimmingly. We went everywhere together especially when his dad was working and going to school. Just him and me, until Rhiannon came along. But was he jealous? Not really. He was excited to have a sibling and wanted to hold her as soon as he could. On days when he needed extra attention, he didn't throw a fit. He said, "Mom, can you lay Rhiannon down and hold me?" Who could resist? Now I know I am painting him as this angel, and most of the time he was, but he could also be super mischievous, too. Like Harold and the Purple Crayon (which I never read to him) the world was his canvas. Specifically the world that was our condo in Vegas, our apartment in Huntington Beach and his bedroom in Texas (which is not really quite so bad as he was turning over that job to the younger siblings by the time we moved). I really love Magic Erasers.

I also homeschooled him until this last year when he went to Middle School. He was always bright, taught himself to read at age 6, but stubborn about what he wanted to learn and when. He learned to love history and science as he explored these at home, but he never quite understood why I tried to teach him how to organize his work until he had 6 teachers and 7 classes and no one picking his work up off the floor for him and asking him where it belongs. I miss having him at home, because he was always a huge help to me. He cooks (most things) with confidence and loves to try making new things, like hamburgers with cinnamon. In school he has turned his attentions to the fine arts. He plays the trumpet in Band and is in the after school theater club. He got to have a small part in their first play of the year which was really fun for all of us to watch him get into the spirit of the show. He proved that there are no small parts, only small actors.

He has always been a very independent spirit and recognized very early the beginnings of his own testimony of the gospel. When he was 5 he shared an experience with the Primary during their testimony sharing time. He said he felt a warmth in his heart and in his mind telling him that the Book of Mormon was true. He couldn't read much yet, but he liked to look at it. One of the teachers told me she thought he was so well spoken for such a young child that she would not be surprised if he was a General Authority someday. He has continued to increase his faith as he chose to be baptized at age 8 and studying the scriptures with our family. Last summer he decided he wanted to read the whole Book of Mormon before he started school. We read ten pages a day except when we were on vacation. It was not easy, but we learned so much together. I will always be grateful he made that goal. His favorite parts are the war chapters and his heroes are Captain Moroni and the Sons of Helaman. I am so proud of the young man he is becoming and enjoy being a part of his life, even if my role is slowly diminishing into sideline observer instead of center of his universe.