It’s a new year. Champagne, fireworks a man, and a beer.

But I think I’m going to write about the beer. I know you were all hoping I was going to tell you about the man. But not this time. At least not the man you are all thinking about. This is a new man, a brand new man. A mom, I’m a grown man, man.

Actually, it was a few days before the New Year. My son, my oldest, Trey was home for his winter break from North West Missouri State. My little guy, not so little, 16 he is, was away visiting his God parents in Atlanta, so Trey and I were doing some bonding.

We decided to take a trip to the country Club Plaza, a little shopping at H&M, he loves that store, both the boys do. The prices are great and the merchandise is too, especially if your guys are small guys like my too are. The big department stores don’t seem to have sizes to fit them but H&M, well , it is perfect.

So we shop. He bought a sweater and some skinny jeans for guys. You know mama had to buy something sexy, some leggings and a funky hat. By that time the two of us were pretty hungry so off to Blanc burgers and bottles, a new spot on the Plaza, that has taken the place of the old Uno’s pizza spot.

We got our seats at the bar, the only spot available in the place. The waitress asked, “What will you have to drink?”

That is when it hit me. I was out sitting at a bar with my 21-year-old son. And he was about to order a drink. It blew my mind.

My mind went back to when he was about 6 months old and I wanted him to start talking. Then by the time the boy was about 8 months he was mumbling words and by a year whole words. At two sentences. He hasn’t shut up since. Then, I couldn’t wait for him to start reading. By the time he was three he was reading to me and his father. Next I was eager to see him playing sports. At 6 he was roller skating, and by 7 he was playing roller hockey with the Bookside Roller Hockey League. At 9 he was really good at it too.

It seemed every step of the way, just about every year there was a anew thing I was anxious for him to master. And like clock work he stepped up. High School, dances, football, homecoming, prom. College, scholarships and on and on.

I never really thought about he and I sitting belly up to a bar ordering lunch and a beer each. Like I said before, this was blowing my mind. But I played it cool. Not a word, passed my lips.

He ordered, for both of us, two beers. He knew exactly what he wanted, obviously, this wasn’t his first beer. Dah, he’s a college student. I ordered the food two classic burgers. And we chatted as if it was no big deal.

Our drinks came and we raised our glasses cling, to life, we toasted.

I looked at him as I sipped. I saw a grown man, not my little cutie wobbling on his first pair of roller skates. We were discussing world politics over a beer, the fiscal cliff and gun control. He was all grown up. I wanted to shed a tear, but I held back and just kept talking. I wished his dad was here to witness this moment. To see us here, drinks in hand, smiles and conversation. Wow!

After lunch we headed home. I’m sure he didn’t realize that for me this was really big. I wondered later whether he was drinking a lot in college and thought maybe I should have a talk with him about the dangers of alcohol and driving and all of that. But he hadn’t been drinking at home and I hadn’t seen signs that he was coming home drunk so I made the conversation brief. I told him, one drink with lunch or dinner is ok but be very careful about drinking and driving. I told him if he drank at school it was best to go to a bar close to home and if he had to, walk home. I said if you are in Kansas City there is no shame in calling me to come get him if he rode with some one who had drank too much. He just nodded his head and promised.

On New Years Day, the blast fireworks sounding off in my neighborhood set the back drop and I cracked open a bottle of champagne that I’d saved. I called to Trey who was the basement family-room watching movies, to join me in a celebration.

Nah, he said. He was drinking juice, instead.

Wow! I had already been surprised that he wasn’t hanging out on New Years Eve, that he wasn’t partaking in liquid libations was an even greater surprise,

Me I filled my glass with champagne and raised it. Here’s to raising boys to be men who understand that there is a time for everything, and everything in moderation.

Happy New Year.