My great nephew, Ethan Barnes, turned 11 years old today. I didn’t get to see him on his special day, however we exchanged text messages and my thoughts have been on this bright young man as I prepared to write his birthday blog post.
Ethan after a big birthday dinner tonight with his family.
The grandson of my sister Debbie, Ethan lives with his family in Oklahoma. He is the older son of Ashley and Jon, and a wonderful big brother to Kaleb. Smart, inventive and creative, Ethan excels in academics and he is well on his way to becoming an Eagle Scout. He’s already earned many merit badges and just returned from his first out of state Boy Scout camp.
Halloween is a big deal at the Barnes’ house. I loved Ethan’s costume from Doctor Who.
I looked up Ethan’s name:
Ethan, you do well when you are in harmony however you are changeable when in discord, because many of your best qualities are then reversed. You are entertaining and may be impulsive. Freedom is a necessity, and you find it difficult to settle on one thing, creating restlessness. Your versatility may bring many changes and opportunities to travel. Your fine intellect is capable of high honors if applied seriously. You are capable of inspired thinking.
Creative and outgoing, you are always looking for an opportunity to showcase your abilities, especially before an audience. You like to feel appreciated. You are looking for ways to communicate your ideas. You like to talk and can easily relate to different cultures and concepts. The biggest challenge for you may be that you are easily bored, causing you to move from one job or project to another. Your high creativity can lead you to happiness. If you pursue your goals, you can make major decisions in life without worry and uncertainty, and achieve great heights.
Those are very powerful words for an 11 year old boy. And yet, I see Ethan growing into them already. He has a rich vocabulary, loves to sing and entertain his family, and already has a vast knowledge of the sciences and technology. I love to sit beside him, watching as he creates his own video games on his iPad. He’s a master at games like Minecraft. Like several in our family, this young man is very aware of energy and spirit, and shows strong intuitive abilities.
While Ethan has always been a great conversationalist, this past year we’ve had some deeper conversations about life and the journey, and about being our own wonderfully unique selves and being okay with who we are. Ethan became a Doctor Who fan recently and I’ve enjoyed discussing this amazing British series with him and hearing his insights.
Ethan’s creativity extends in many directions. He creates cool memes such as the one pictured above, designs games, plays with technology, surprises me with music that he just casually pulls together on his iPad. He likes to read, watch movies, and play trivia games.
He’s a deep thinker. And he’s an outside of the box thinker. His intellect, versatility and keen insight will indeed take him far in life and abroad in the world. And perhaps this amazing boy with his big ideas will go way, way beyond this world and explore among the stars, literally seeking out new life and new civilizations, going where few have gone before.
He can do whatever he wants to do. No matter what career or path he chooses, I’ll be here cheering him on. Happy birthday Ethan! I love you!
