A milestone

Today was our eldest grandchild's 16th birthday! How on earth did that happen?  Where did all those years go?
Oh, well.

This was Christmas, 2014. He has grown more, and is genuinely decent. We took him to dinner today for his birthday. His friend, Billy, was invited, but unfortunately was out cold due to Tylenol 3 prescribed for a dental procedure. So, we had the boy to ourselves. When we got ourselves all seated and comfortable, the staff at Boston Pizza (his choice) came out to sing "Happy birthday" to another guest. She was a very elderly lady (104!) and was celebrating with various generations of her family. We suggested to Jackson that he go over and wish her a happy birthday, while telling her he was 16 today... and he did!  That's our kid! He chatted with her, and she and her family were thrilled.
When we settled in and ordered, he went to the washroom. The restaurant manager appeared at our table and asked for Jackson. We told him where he was, and the manager said he had a coupon for Jackson because he was so impressed that a young person would share his birthday with an elderly woman and actually go over and talk to her.
We were so impressed that a restaurant manager would appreciate our "boy's" gesture! Jackson is the kind of kid who will go over to a person and just relate.
We had a glitch in late January when he was suspended for a week, which made his travel to Hilton Head with us in February impossible. It also curtailed his dad's holiday. Since then, he has looked at his behaviour and taken a lot of guidance from parents and grands to heart.  He has obviously done the right thing.
We hope he will continue on and become the young man we know he can be.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TOAD!