Oh Henry!

For spring break when we went to Seattle for my Dad's 80th birthday, Dad pulled my Strong Silent Mysterious Man aside and asked him if he could give the teenager a special gift for his graduation.

We were very humbled that he asked permission. He has come a long way from a time that we got the feeling all the time that he wasn't sure that we were raising the kid right and loved to take him on Friday night and we had a hard time getting the kid back... he would just keep saying "oh, he can just stay", and he would avoid us and put us off, and it would be Sunday night before we could get the kid back home again. I get the feeling now that he finally trusts that we are good parents and that we did a few things right.

So during the spring break visit, Dad was so excited about this special gift... he had told everyone in the family except me about it, and told each one of them, not to tell anyone.

Finally I caught on that something was up, and they finally told me what the gift was all about.

It was all he could do not to give it to the teenager right then and there.

I have to admit, it was hard to keep it a secret for the next month.

Saturday after they arrived in Idaho for the graduation celebrations.... he presented to the teenager the Henry Golden Boy "Eagle Scout Tribute Edition" Rifle!!!

Oh WOW is right!!

I wasn't sure the teenager knew what he had in his hands... but he did. And he LOVES it!

He told me later, "Mom, There were only 1,000 of them made, and I have one! I will have this for my whole life!!" I think he gets it... so cool, so special!