Anton Without The E

To think that my baby boy, born on this day 23 years ago, is getting married in June 2016! I will never forget him looking up at me immediately after he was born. I knew his face, because I looked just like him at birth. His tiny blue eyes seemed to recognize me right away. And I was in love. This tiny grubas (as his Great-Grandma Jar called him - I think it meant chubby baby) was a sweet little one, pretty much attached to my hip through infancy. He was named for a man his Daddy considers to be the greatest man he's ever known: Grandpa Anton Zimanek. Athough he's had several nicknames through his life, including One Sock Off and Reggie when he was younger, Little Man, Tone, Toners, Kirby, Little Face and Antush. Anton's love for sports was developed pretty early, as by age 3 he was collecting football figurines and could name any NFL team (Buc-o-ears). If he wasn't watching or playing sports throughout grade school, he was playing with Legos or video games (luckily, each year Madden NFL comes out just days before his birthday making it a perfect gift).

Tone was a pretty smart student. In kindergarten there was a contest to read the most number of books to win a prize. He won, getting an alarm clock which he used through high school. I remember his teacher at parent teacher conferences saying "What do you say about the boy who reads 50 books over the summer?" Tone always needed more formidable classes in school since he was such a quick learner. I remember asking him in second grade, "Learn anything new today?" to which he responded. "Nope, I'm teaching the other kids." This was when I went into the teacher and principal to get him a more challenging work load. He won the Presidential Fitness Award two years on a row and loves volleyball and tennis. Since school work came pretty easily to him, he wasn't a huge studier, but his grades were always excellent. He sped through math courses especially to the point where in middle school he was bussed to the high school to take algebra. It's because of this very thing that Anton met his fiance Kayla.

When we moved to Prattville, we were told by guidance counselors that any classes taken in middle school could not count for graduation. Since Anton had algebra in 8th grade, he had to retake it in high school. This was where he met Kayla, so God has quite a sense of humor, cause I remember Anton being pretty frustrated that he had to retake this class. Not so frustrated about that anymore!

A full academic scholarship in college paired with various part-time jobs (resident assistant for three years along with working with sports information) and honors classes kept Anton pretty busy. He was selected as the top student in the Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management School his graduating year. We are excited to see where the Lord leads him for his future.

Our son is driven, a perfectionist, handsome, loves to work with youth, is technologically quick, athletic and honorable. I have never heard him ever utter a cuss word and he rarely gets angry. He loves the Lord and is head over heels for his fiance, Kayla. And the heart this boy has is a big one. At his engagement party recently, Kayla's parents made sure to have Anton's favorite beer on hand. When asked why he wasn't drinking it, Anton commented that he didn't want to set a bad example for any of the youth who were there. Anton, we thank God you came into our lives. You completed our little family perfectly and have brought so much laughter and fun into our lives! Happy Blessed Birthday!

Discussion: Share an Anton memory.

Prayer: Lord we thank you for the life of Anton and pray you keep him tenderly in your care. We ask that you watch out for his future and bless him in adventures ahead and his marriage to Kayla. We ask this in Jesus, Amen.