Cupcakes with Coffee - My Son, My Favorite Person, My Soulmate in This Life

Today is my only child's birthday. My son. He is twenty-three... Really? How? He was just this little chub that came to me and changed my life.

I know people have their opinions about the word 'soulmate'. They picture romantic relationships, star-crossed lovers, some cinematic moment where two people lock eyes across a crowded room. But no one ever talks about the soulmates we raise. The ones who grow inside us, whose heartbeat becomes the background music of our own, the ones who teach us more about love, patience, and purpose than any adult relationship ever could.

My son is my favorite person in the world, and yes—he is also my soulmate. Not in the romanticized way people like to imagine, but in the truest, most human sense: he is a soul I was meant to meet, meant to guide, and meant to be transformed by.

From the moment he entered my world, it was like someone handed me a new set of eyes. Suddenly everything had more depth, more color, more consequence. I looked at myself differently. I looked at life differently. I looked at love differently. The world became both softer and more serious at the same time. And through every chapter—chaotic, tender, exhausting, hilarious—he’s been the quiet center of my universe.

He’s the one who made me braver.
He’s the one who made me gentler.
He’s the one who made me try harder, even on days when I had nothing left.

And the truth is, he’s also the person I like the most. Not just love—the liking matters. I like his humor, his quirks, the way his mind works, the way he sees possibilities where other people see problems. I like the way he walks into a room with his whole heart, unfiltered, unafraid to be exactly who he is. I like that he challenges me. I like that he surprises me. I like that being his mom is the one role in life I never grow tired of, never question, never want to escape.

There’s a gentleness to the bond we have—an ease, even in moments when nothing feels easy. There’s a comfort in just existing near each other, in shared silence, in the tiny rituals that make up our days. Inside jokes. Simple routines. Conversations that wander from silly to profound without warning. It’s connection in the purest form: honest, steady, unconditional.

What people don’t tell you is that sometimes your child becomes the person who understands you better than anyone else ever has. Not because they try, but because your souls have been intertwined since the beginning. There’s no explaining required. No mask. No performance. Just two people who belong to each other in the most natural way.

Loving my son has been the great anchor of my life, and watching him grow has been my greatest privilege. He’s taught me resilience without hardness, hope without delusion, boundaries without bitterness. He’s taught me how to show up, how to let go, how to evolve—and how to see magic in ordinary moments.

Maybe soulmate isn’t even the right word. Maybe it’s something deeper than language allows. But I know this: in a world full of noise, he is my clarity. In a life full of change, he is my constant. And in a universe full of billions of souls, somehow we found our way to each other in this lifetime.

That alone feels like destiny.

And I wouldn’t trade it for anything because he is the person who made me who I am, and the person who reminds me daily who I want to be.

My son is my favorite person.
My safe place.
My biggest adventure.
And yes—my soulmate, in the most beautiful, soul-shaping way.

"A mother is a son's first true love. A son, especially that first son, is a mother's last true love." —Denzel Washington

I love you my sweet.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

- Mom

Where are the tissues?

Now, onto cupcakes.

Cupcakes with Coffee Style:

Cupcakes are tiny acts of joy—soft, sweet reminders that life doesn’t have to be big or perfect to be worth celebrating. They’re the reward after a hard day (mid-day, if necessary), the comfort during a messy one, and pure bliss in edible form. Paired with a good cup of coffee, they’re not just dessert—they’re a moment of pause, a little cheer, and sometimes, the reason you keep going.

To go with your amazing vanilla cupcake, it could only be a blonde flat white (as my son was once a towhead - we are talking a platinum blonde/white head of hair).

A 'blonde flat white' is a flat white coffee made with Starbucks' blonde espresso, which has a lighter roast and a smoother, sweeter taste than their signature roast. It is a stronger-tasting coffee drink with a thinner, 'flat' layer of steamed milk foam on top, unlike a latte which has a thicker layer of foam. 

A little tidbit:

Why DO we call blonde toddlers/children ‘towheads’?

The term 'towhead' is used to describe children with very light, blond or yellow-colored hair. The word 'tow' refers to the fiber of flax, hemp, or jute prepared for spinning, which is light in color. The term 'towhead' first appeared in writing around 1830 and was commonly used throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, especially when referring to children. The color of flax is usually a golden hue, which may explain the association with light blond hair. The term "towhead" is also related to the idea of unkempt or tangled hair. (Sources: mentalfloss.com, grammarphobia.com)

In the end, loving my son isn’t just a chapter of my life—it’s the thread weaving everything together. He is the quiet reason I keep going, the steady reminder of what truly matters, and the soul who feels like home no matter how insane the world becomes. If I never accomplish another thing, loving him will still be the greatest, truest, most sacred work of my life.