For some young men, it’s a bar mitzvah. For Hindu tribes its is the Thread Ceremony and for the Gambian you are circumcised at the appointed time where a boy becomes a man. Makes me, for one, glad to not be Gambian. And finally … for the American lad, it is the rollercoaster.

Growing above the 42″ mark on the wall is a big deal in our house – at least it is now, since this is the monumental mark that allows one to ride the Journey to Atlantis roller coaster. And we did just that – my oldest son has been watching his progress for weeks on the wall chart, and finally made that defining scribble on the wall. We promptly head to Sea World … get the wristband height clearance … and ride it 3 times. Twice in a row and one more bonus time right before we left. This will be a day long remembered.

My little boy’s growing up.

JG