As the parent of a childhood cancer survivor, each birthday that child has is a cause for celebration. There is a book written by a pediatric neurosurgeon entitled "If I See Five" that has stuck in my head through the years. It was said to him by a patient who had a brain tumor with a terrible prognosis, and the heart breakingly matter-of-fact way that she acknowledged what for her was going to be a very short life indeed. So every birthday my first thought is that Ethan gets to see another year, and for that I am most grateful.
And an eventful year it has been. He graduated from college with two majors and a minor, an excellent GPA, and most importantly, a liberal education that affords him the knowledge and the background to navigate the world. I, his stalwart tutor, also learned quite a lot, and am thinking of becoming a Khan academy aficionado in order to go further in my personal studies. I tutored Ethan for his sake, but I ended up gaining more than I could have imagined doing so. The best kind of altruism. So with great joy, I present my newly twenty four year old.
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