I’m not sure what happened. I went to sleep in 2006 and woke up in 2012 (or actually, I haven’t slept much at all since 2006, so perhaps that makes the question moot and explains my surprise at the passing of time?).
My firstborn turned six this month. What the…? Six?
The morning of his birthday, Mark asked, “How does it feel to be six, H-man?”
And H, oh that child, he said, “Awesome! I get to learn to drive!”
Sixteen is when you learn to drive, friend, not six.
“Oh, well that’s okay. Six is still pretty cool.”
Mark and I had a good laugh. I wonder if H had ever considered why none of the other six-and-overs at school were driving themselves around? Underneath my laughter, my stomach clenched and tears worked at the corners of my eyes. At this rate, I thought, I will doze off again and he will be learning to drive.
But I won’t have to wring my hands and worry about him driving too fast, testing the limits of the law, because he is a responsible type.
He knows what time it is – exactly what time it is – at all times. He does not round to the nearest :15, :30, :45, or :60 yet. He knows what his school assignments are and when they’re due. Thank goodness one of us in on the ball.
He doesn’t stand for flimsy excuses or halfhearted explanations. This doesn’t always bode well for parents who just want everyone to go to bed already, but this should be a very good thing for his future. Nobody’s going to pull one over on H.
He loves police officers and the law with a fervor I, frankly, find maddening at times. Although I won’t be too awfully sad when he outgrows this obsession or the little police game he’s invented with his neighborhood cronies, I do hope his love for justice and peace prevails always.
He falls apart now and then, of course, because he’s only six. But this kid, who spoke in complete sentences, with passionate hand gestures and facial expressions to match, when he was still barely walking, thinks and operates in words. We can talk through things; he gets it. Usually.
He gets scared and nervous sometimes. And when he conquers something new, overcoming his fear or nerves? He manages to appear proud and a wee bit embarrassed, quietly grinning, while he tolerates our whoops and hollers of congratulation.
So I’m not sure how it happened. I’m not sure when the 5 pound, 11 ounce baby turned into a one-inch-shy-of-four-feet tall boy. I’m not sure how we went from Baby’s First Christmas to writing his own letters to Santa.
I swear I just closed my eyes to rest for a few minutes.
That was one hell of a nap, I guess.
From 6 weeks...
...to six years. I love this picture. I think it captures his thoughtful nature.
I wonder…
:: Do your emotions get all mixed up and struggle to outdo each other as you watch your kids grow? Joy, sadness, pride, fear and so much more?
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Of course! I think that it’s just part of the territory that comes with being a mom.
I’ve been wondering where the time has gone with my kids too… one day they’re little babies & toddlers and now they’re practically grown up.
We must never, ever blink, because just like that… no more babies.
Aw! I’m right there with you. Mine turns 6 on Thursday, and I’m finding myself all weepy and going through old photos. I hope the next 6 years goes a little slower, but I have a feeling it won’t.
Happy belated six! {I need to send out a blanket apology email, I think… I had some comment-reply issues. Very sorry my replies are so late!}
If only you actually felt well-rested after that long nap! Your guy sounds just phenomenal.
Yes, I think it’s always this struggle between pushing them onward and wishing them back. The lump in my throat always comes when I see a group of bigger boys playing at our neighborhood park. I imagine my two boys being that big and know that when they are 12, I’ll still look at them and see that little 3-year-old boy with the still-chubby cheeks, and it’ll be hard not to contain the tears of pride and fear.
Thank you. And isn’t that the truth? The time is flying, but we are definitely NOT resting. I agree that we’ll always see our little guys, even when they’re decidedly not little anymore. It gives me such empathy for our parents.
Yes! Yes! Yes! My duo just turned 9! And they had the gull to remind me (or, rather, tell me as I’d clearly never considered) that they were half way to leaving for college. What? That’s absurd. But of course their math is accurate.
Baffled.
Absolutely baffled.
And H is positively adorable!!! Then and now.
That is just mean of them. And I have never before considered that 9 was halfway to college; kind of makes my stomach hurt! 😉
That was one hell of a nap. And what an amazing boy you’ve raised so far…I love that he’s contemplative and sensitive; believe in justice and peace and fairness.
I love that he loves words.
And to answer your question regarding my own kids, YES. I get weepy during milestones; to the point of embarrassing my children who are, truthfully, barely children anymore.
They are almost 15 and almost 13 – which places us smack in the realm of teenagers.
And really close to driving. For real.
Last week I took Jack and Karly to the midnight showing of The Hunger Games; and while I reveled in the fact that they were old enough to have read the series before I did, that they’re old enough to stay up until three o’ clock in the morning making a memory we’ll never forget, I was painfully aware that by the time the sequel to this rabidly successful movie franchise airs, they probably won’t want to go to the opening show with me anymore.
Most of the teens in the theater had been dropped off. Especially the ones who were Jack’s age. He didn’t care. He was happy to be with me.
And I hope he always feels that way, even as I realize he won’t. There will be a time when both my kids accelerate the process of growing away from me. There has to be.
So I guess I’m not napping these days.
At all.
In fact, I barely want to blink.
So hold on, friend.
The pace keeps picking up. For real.
I had comment reply issues (first my own, lazy self, then the reply program I use in my Dashboard was not cooperating). Did I ever reply to this comment? I feel like MAYBE I did, but now I can’t see it. Who knows!
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Happy six to you.
Thanks. 🙂
Boy, do I understand. My oldest just turned 10 this month and it truly seems like it was yesterday. And my youngest turns 5 this summer. It gives new meaning, some days, to “the days are long but the years are short.”
Sigh. Hug to you, Missy!
10! The double-digits. That’s huge.
Yes, I love that saying. It’s so very true.
Oh I think every birthday makes me all sappy and sniffles. They do grow so fast. People told me it would…but damn.