Alas, the clock ticks by and now he's five. And a day.
I'm not sure what to make of it all really. It seems like just yesterday that he was a baby. But then again, I can hardly remember him being a baby at all. I have to conjur up images from photographs sometimes just to get the memories flowing.
The last five years have been a blur of growth spurts (when oh when will I stop needing to by new clothes and shoes every 3 months!?!), skinned knees, cups of chocolate milk, light sabers, torn up pants, baseballs, smiles, swords, worn down shoes, legos, laughs, more chocolate milk, some tantrums, more weapons of any kind, and of course some tears too.
Now I think I realize why I do so much clothes and shoe shopping for him. He's ruthless on his rags and the holes are endless.
Our son is such a whirl of constant activity that at times I wonder how he doesn't get dizzy. Or tired. At all. He really just has "on" and "off". And when he's "on", there's no stopping him. When he's "off" there's no waking him.
He has brought such a new dynamic to our family over the years. He has formed a special relationship with each of his sisters. Each one unique in it's own right. But still he's a little brother through and through. He fools us into thinking that he's much older than he is, since he keeps up with all kinds of conversations and happenings throughout our family.
But then he'll cry because he doesn't understand that his birthday party is actually two days later than his real birthday. And cry again after school because his friends didn't bring him presents, even though we've explained that the party is not for another two days.
And that's when we remember that he's only five, and he should be treated as such.
He still deserves to get all the cuddles he can stand (which is a lot, believe me), a kiss on every skinned knee, and a sweet lullaby every night. Even if the lullaby requested is Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. Which it often is.
After all, he's just five years old. And as much as he seems older, and as much as he may try to keep up with his older sisters doing everything they do, but better, we need to remember that he deserves an energetic, carefree, creative and loving childhood.
So here's my birthday wishes to you, my last baby.
- May you always move in the direction you want and never let anything stop you.
- May you always get the well-deserved sweet rest that you need so that you can keep forging ahead in life.
- May you always appreciate the love and attention of your older sisters and know that you are special to all of us in the family, each in a unique way.
- May you always seem wise beyond your years.
- May we all never forget to let you simply enjoy your childhood, embracing every laugh, every tear and every new step.
I love you sweet little man.
