Tristan is a Treasure!

HAPPY-BIRTHDAY TO A SON-IN-LAW WE COULD NOT LIVE WITHOUT!

 

I don’t need a whole lot of money

But I wouldn’t turn a lottery down…

All I want is a place to lay my head with the woman I love lyin’ in my bed  {editor’s note: we all want to know if, just for your birthday, at least, she let you try sleeping on the other side of the bed!!??  haha!}

Almost 9 years ago you married our multi-prismed, colorful, feisty, yet tender Stephanie.  What a gentle treasure she’d found.  What a trustworthy man, fit to hold her heart and walk along in life with her, covering her.  We were so pleased then and have not ever for one second had any regret or fear about whether or not she’d done the right thing…even though you forgot to ask permission first{we really do forgive you!  haha}.  And you became our son.  A new son – all grown up and finished (thank you Larry and Chyrl Kelley: GREAT job.  Truly!  If only we’d known we may have sent you a few others… ;p ). 

My dreams aren’t that complicated…

I wanna be the one

When all is said and done

Who lived a good life, loved a good wife, and always helped someone in trouble

 

So, here you were: this new son from different parents, whisking our daughter off to “happily ever after” and being saddled with the burden of helping us become IN-LAWS!  What a load to have to carry – especially when we were such novices and have done it all wrong a  million or more times, I am sure.  Yet, you have always shown us honor and been a man of peace in this family.  You have thrown yourself into the life of our zaniness and odd traditions and trusted us with your babies, who, by the way, are tributes and testaments to the people you and Steph are.  They are the fruit of the life of creativity and love you have chosen to live.  They represent you well even when you are not around to hear it and see it.  The sum of  the three speaks volumes of you and Stephanie and your oneness.

On the day they lay me down

I want everyone to gather ‘round

And say he was a father, brother, neighbour and a friend

He was a good man!

Tristan is Cool

And 30!  THIRTY!  Thirty years old.  Omygoodness!  But you still look 23 with the wisdom of a man in his 70s…not sure what that means?  Haha.

 

We each had to draw one part of Tris (picked from a selection in a bowl) and see what the collective came up with.  Uh-huh.  Rocky accused me of drawing “big, old eyes staring at you!”

 

I used to dream of being a rock star

And seein’ the world in style

Used to dream of havin’ a fast car

And driving that miracle mile

But I’ve heard tales those streets aren’t paved in gold

They’re full of pot holes and empty soul who never learn

Love is something you gotta earn

 

Specialty root beers and cream sodas for the b-day boy.

LOVED celebrating your life the other night (read more about that here).  It WAS a very cool party for a very cool guy: all wood-grainy (I hope that doesn’t take my house-paint off) and red; all full of Tris-triv and drawing you the way we apparently see you.  And it was just such a perfect evening and such a blessing for me personally to sit under the stars by candlelight and just honor some one I truly love and admire so much.

Happy Birthday, kiddo

   

I wanna be the one

When all is said and done

Who lived a good life, loved a good wife, and always helped someone in trouble

When I’m gone, I wanna leave a legacy

Of love and laughs and honesty behind me

Behind me…

You ARE a Rock Star, Tristan!

You ARE a great daddy and husband.  You love Steph well.  You are a wonderful brother to the rest of the kids and a blessing of a son to us.  You’re a reliable friend and resourceful helper.  You know everything I ever need to know about anything and I appreciate your willingness to teach me all of it.  Your music students love you.  Anyone with whom you have ever played drums or guitar live or in recordings know you are the BEST and as quiet and unassuming as you are, you have managed to amass fans all over the place.  I am so pleased you were born to be one of us.

 

I wanna be the one when all is said and done

Who lived a good life, loved a good wife, and always helped someone in trouble

On the day they lay me down, want everyone to gather ‘round

And say he was a father, brother, neighbour and a friend

He was a good man…

You are a good man.  Happy Birthday, Tristan!…mom

LYRICS:  “A Good Man” by Emerson Drive…yea, it is kind of a cowboy country song (and you, Tris, are anything but country or cowboy!), but I liked it, anyway.

CHECK THIS OUT!

Tristan recently did an all-drum and the Word project with www.getthewordout.cc  Go to that site, click on downloads and look for the downloadable FREEDOM recording.  It was done LIVE all in one take.  It is Tristan playing drums under the anointing and Lewis Brown Sr. and Lewis Jr. (Proxy the Hip-Hop artist) reading scriptures on the topic of freedom!  So PROUD of you, Tris!  VERY POWERFUL!

4 thoughts on “Tristan is a Treasure!

  1. Happy Birthday, Tris! Mom just describes everyone so eloquently and she hit the nail on the head with you. You were the first in-law and you set a precedent that someone who didn’t grow up with us could still enter into the family and complete us in a way we didn’t know we needed. You are truly our brother (notice I left off the “in-law” part) and I’m so thankful that in choosing Steph, you chose all of us. I love you!

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