As Alec got ready to go bed last night- I yelled to him-“hey-come give me my last hug from you as a 5 year old”. He came running out of his room “ok-mom-I am going to remember this moment for ever”.
Me too sweet boy, me too.
And so, to help you remember so many moments of your life Alec –let me tell you all about your almost 6 year old self….
You have a full heart. You care and worry infinitely about the care of your 2 great-grandmothers so much so that it makes my heart hurt. You love your family and extended family whole-heartedly. Your family and friends (your inner circle) you hold so closely. When you spontaneously say “I love you” to grandma or grump on the phone- it usually makes me weak in the knees. You have taken to hugging Ben good bye every time you leave him. And there is always a kiss goodbye at the door for dad. Always.
Although you truly love learning- you despise school. You feel it is a waste of your time. (this makes me so sad) You really do feel you can teach yourself everything you need to know by yourself. (oye!) You love math, science and being read to. You have started to have a large appetite for history. You HATE reading and writing (although you did ask me to teach you cursive the other day?!). I hope you have figured out that reading is the best gift you could give yourself. You don’t always enjoy the social aspect of school… sort –of like your grump – you love to have kids around you but you do not always require the direct interaction. You are not one for playground drama and will leave the pack if it gets too intense. You keep your few friends close (the inner circle) and you are content with that.
You love nature. You love being outdoors. Feeding the birds and tending the garden make you happy. You talk to the garden plants as if they understand you. Your heart is big – as we walk to the bus stop after a rain, you will stop and pick up all worms off the road and put them back in soil so they will live. Thank goodness the bus stop is only next door. Unfortunately, taking walks in the woods and hiking have become “boring” to you. This makes me sad. I hope it is just a phase.
Your love for Shania is mighty. You are constantly driving her crazy by loving her so much. You try so very often to make her life better by making her special spots, snagging her treats, making sure her toys are at her disposal and you always make sure she has a present under the Christmas tree.
You hate shopping and going to any store makes you sound as if you are dying of some strange, rare, incurable disease. It is incurable - you are a true male. :)
You love swimming, hockey, soccer and gymnastics. You have just started toying around with lacrosse. You can not stand tball at all. You rode your bike without training wheels last fall. This spring you asked us to put them back on and we did. You steadfastly refuse to take them off again. Like all things- you will accomplish this when you are good and ready and no one can make you do anything other.
With great remorse you have decided that you love meat too much to become a vegetarian. I think bacon got the best of you. You love a good steak and have a refined enough pallet to know the difference. When pressed for your favorite foods- they are still chocolate, gum and salt.
Your books of choice are all over the place. You like Magic Tree House stories, A-Z Mysteries, the Humphrey series and almost anything non-fiction. Lately we have been reading about Ben Franklin and the revolutionary war. You have no idea how hard it is to find age appropriate books on the war. I want to protect you from the realities of war but also want to educate you as much as possible while you are interested. It’s such a fine line we walk because you are astute enough to know that I read ahead and leave out parts.
You are an ever-present kind of kid. You are keenly aware of conversations happening around you. You may not understand or even care what we are talking about but you are listening. Always. Always. Always.
You are a very curious kid. You ask so many questions. And as always the answer must satisfy your question without creating more questions. You are persistent if you want to know something. Always looking for the stumper question. You usually find it!
6 years ago you showed up and gave us the gift of more.
More life, more love, more fun.
To the little boy who makes my life a better place.
Happy birthday baby-boo.
I love you.
