Tuesday 13 November 2018

Eighteen

I've made many cards for eighteen year olds over the years and have always thought how grown up they are. Eighteen seemed such a long way off. But now my eldest son has just turned 18. He finished school last summer and is currently on a pre-army programme and living on a kibbutz in the south of Israel.
It all seems to happen in the blink of an eye.
My son has received a handmade card made by mum on his birthday ever since he turned 1 (I started blogging about them when he was 8). I think that his 1st birthday card, or maybe it was his 2nd, had the pinky purple Bleeper People on it, from his favourite pop-up book at the time Where, Oh Where, is Kipper's Bear?. I no longer decorate his birthday cards with favourite toys, characters or animals of course. In recent years I have shown him keeping fit and learning to drive.
My 18 year old is a big fan of the Premier League football club Arsenal. On this years birthday card I have shown him wearing the white T-shirt of his mechina (pre-army programme) and waving his Arsenal scarf to cheer on his team. He is going to London to see them play against Spurs in December - his very first time seeing them play in the Premier League!
Since my son was born here in Israel, he also supports a more local team. He has been to see Beitar Jerusalem play many times so I added their badge to his card as well. He also loves going out for a burger with his friends and of course he's 18 now, he can enjoy a beer with them too, though hopefully not too many!
My son will be going into the Israeli army next summer (conscription exists in Israel for all Israeli citizens over the age of 18 who are Jewish, Druze or Circassian; Arab citizens of Israel are not conscripted). I'm probably not going to be able to discuss his army service here but I have included the badge of the Israel Defence Forces on his card and have wished him "Good Luck" in Arabic. He learnt Arabic at school and chose it as one of his Bagrut (Israel's high school matriculation examination) subjects. It seems that he's pretty good at it.
Finally I added a pair of walking boots. He enjoys the outdoors and has done a fair bit of hiking and orienteering on his programme and seems to enjoy it. Those walking boots have been put to good use so far!
For the first time in his life my son was not home for his big day. I arranged for a friend to deliver his birthday card and was thrilled to receive this video of him opening it on the morning of his birthday.
Even at 18 it seems that he is very happy with his customised card handmade by Mum - and his friends seem impressed too!

14 comments:

Carol @Comfort Spring Station said...

Your child has grown into a fine young man - I know you must be proud. Beautiful card as always. Wishing him many happy, healthy years. #keepingitreal

Chickenruby said...

happy 18th birthday, I love the card but it should be Birmingham City not Arsenal for me #keepingitreal

Jayne said...

You must be so proud Lisa and very emotional! I hope your son had an amazing birthday!

Thanks so much for sharing with #MMBC. Enjoy the rest of your week. x

restlessjo said...

What a very proud mum you must be, Lisa. Thanks so much for sharing precious moments like this. :) :) The prospect of a son in the army has always frightened me in these troubled times. I wish all of you well and for him to have the happy, successful future you want for him.

likeschocolate said...

Fantastic card as always and happy 18th birthday to your arsenal loving boy!

Sara - Villa Emilia said...

Such a beautiful card, as always. The details are amazing.
The cake looks very special too. :)
Now I must see more carefully the previous post (about Golan). I see there some places I have visited a long time ago... :)
Wishing happiness and safety to you all!

Miss Val's Creations said...

Your son must have an amazing collection. Time does go by too quickly. That is so cute that the opening was videoed for you! I found it funny how the kids say "oh my god" in English. :)

betty-NZ said...

They grow up so fast! What a lovely celebration and a handsome young man.

Tom said...

...eighteen seems so long away.

VeggieMummy said...

Happy 18th birthday to your lovely son. It does indeed all go in the blink of an eye. I'm glad that he loved his card. xx

DeniseinVA said...

How wonderful! You make beautiful cards and if my Mum made me these on every birthday, I would be love them and keep them forever. Your son is a lovely young man and I wish him A Very Happy Birthday! How proud you must be of him. Enjoyed the video and all the photos, thank you so much for sharing them.

Sigrid Chu said...

Hello Lisa,

That’s a beautiful card! Thank you for sharing this with us. I wish your son a wonderul year ahead.

Best,
Sigrid

Debbie said...

Hi Lisa, how special that you can make your children cards that reflect them at that time. I hope they keep all the cards to look back over when they are all grown up... Time does fly. My youngest is almost 19 now and I'm not sure where all those years have gone.

Thank you for linking up with #KeepingItReal

xx

Tanza Erlambang - Every Day Issues said...

lovely cards.
have a great day