Thirty-eight years ago today a wonderful thing happened. Zachary Joseph Weiland was born. He was our second son. He was born with a job to help his older brother, Andy. Not too many infants have that kind of expectation from their parents. Andy has Down's syndrome so we hoped Zac's development would help Andy to do the same.
It worked!! Zac and Andy crawled at the same time. They walked within a week of each other. They were best friends. I'm not sure which one caused the mischief but they were in it together. They even had their own language with Zac being the interpreter. They were even the same size for years even though Andy was nineteen months older.
Zac also took on the oldest child handle. About the time this family photo was taken, I went to the store and left Zac "in charge." Today I would be turned in to DCFS. It was a different world then . . . . I can't remember if I left Andy or not, but I trusted Zac to take care of the kids. Depending on who you ask, the story unfolded something like this . . . .
Thad was a good runner and the plan (between Sarah and Thad) was to provoke Zac so he would chase Thad outside. Sarah would lock all the doors, then let Thad back in the house. Zac would be locked out. It worked perfectly. Zac tried everything. He could hear Leah crying, but Sarah wouldn't let him in. So Zac broke the window in the back door to get into the house. When I got back, I heard several versions of what had happened. As I was berating Zac for breaking the window he said,"If you are going to give me the responsibility, you have to give me the authority." Does that sound like a budding attorney??
Zac has always been an athlete. He lettered in football, wrestling, basketball, and track
to name a few. We were always attending games. When we moved to Leavenworth, Kansas, Zac lettered in football as a Junior. Andy wanted a letterman's jacket too so Zac asked the coach if he could give his next letter to his brother. The coach said Andy could earn his own letter in something that was hard for him. Andy had to behave in the lunchroom for thirty days. Zac and his friends help the Bear achieve his goals.Zac also picked Sarah up in his arms on her first day of high school, running through the halls singing. "Happy Birthday to You." She was mortified but secretly loved it!!
I could go on and on about the amazing man Zac has become. He set the standard higher than I ever imagined. He plans neighborhood Easter Egg Hunts. He coaches his kids sport teams. He runs marathons. He surprises his wife with textured walls. He wins cake decorating contests with kitty litter cakes, (that was a disgusting one). He rides his bike from Logan to Jackson Hole in one day. He takes Josh to BYU games. He leads the "Bluebirds" flying to the center of the field after a goal. He carves pumpkins with his kids and half the neighborhood. He makes bottle rockets and then ups the standard by sending up water balloons with glow sticks. He genuinely loves life and it shows.
I am so proud to be his mom. What a blessing he has been in my life and the life of our family. This remarkable man is thirty-eight today . . . . Happy Birthday, Son. We love you.
