We were putting our oldest son to bed on the night of September 11, 2001. He said to us, "This is so unfair. I'm always gonna remember this as the day they flew airplanes into buildings."
I responded with, "No son, we are always going to remember this as the day you turned seven."
Fortunately, we had celebrated his birthday party a few days before during the weekend.
As it became clear that the media was going to refer to the terrorist attacks as September 11, our son started lobbying to have his birthday moved to September 10 or September 12.
After a few moments thought, I responded with, "No son, we are not going to let the bad guys steal your birthday."
I struggled with that decision for a long time. Was it fair to keep his birthday on a day that will now live in infamy? Were we doing the right thing?
An unsolicited call of encouragement
In my weekly column I mentioned that I had told my son that we were not going to let the bad guys steal his birthday. I got a call from an older gentleman who told me the most amazing and curious thing.
His seventh birthday was December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor Day. He had tried to get his parents to change the date of his birthday just like my son had. And just like we had, his parents would not let him, because they did not want to let the bad guys steal his birthday.
He was calling to tell me that we were doing the right thing.
I wish he would have left his name and number so I could thank him.
I guess writing about it will have to do.
Visit ParentingYourTeenager.com for tips and tools for thriving during the teen years. You can also subscribe to our f*r*e*e 5 day e-program on The Top 5 Things to Never Say to Your Teenager, from parenting coach and expert Jeff Herring.
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