This past week my son turned 6. The thought of having a 6 year old has filled me with more emotion than I anticipated. It not only brought to light the fact that six whole years have gone by since our family of two became a family of three, but also that my little boy, my first baby, is really growing up.
Between this and the going-to-school full time thing, my heart is a wreck.
I love watching my children grow. Each week, month and year brings with it a new adventure. A new challenge as a parent (some of them I could do without) and more fun. My children continue to develop a special, unique personality that belongs to only themselves, that can not be duplicated and yet is shared with us daily.
These are the gifts I receive from them on the day of their birth each year.
Their smiles, hugs and how they are discovering themselves are the rewards of parenthood.
I look at my towering 6 year old with the memory of an elephant, a sense of humour like one of the three stooges and the ability to choreograph every moment of his life to song and dance and I see my happiness. With the past six years tucked gently behind me, in a place that will always be held close to my heart, I can’t help but see the horizon – the future that he and his sister have in store for us, and for themselves.
Birthdays make me reflect. And this year I am reflecting with a smile and a pop-rock tune in my heart. Because that’s how my newly turned 6 year old likes it.
For my oldest son, turning 6 and starting grade one came almost on the same day. I was a mess! For all of my children, I found going into grade one much more difficult than starting Kindergarden. Probably because it was a moment when they truly turned into “big kids”. This year, this same son turned 12, started middle school, and completed his babysitting course at about the same time. I found many of those turning 6/grade one feelings come rushing back. I’m so proud of the responsible (and somewhat hormonal!) young man he is becoming (he measures everyday with me to see when he’s going to surpass me in height – I figure I have until Christmas!). Yet I’m also a little sad that my first baby is doing just that… becoming a young man. It really makes me wonder where the years have gone. Parenting can be very bittersweet sometimes…
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oh so sweet! Happy Birthday O!
Happy belated birthday to your little *big* boy. Lovely post Rebecca.
I am.so with you on this Rebecca. My eldest turned 5 a month ago and surprises me every day with elaborate words he knows I don’t even use myself. And the baby turned 1 last week, he’s turning into a toddler, into a little person who’s trying to communicate but who’s not a baby anymore. It’s always so beautiful to see them grow but you know that growing means growing independant from us and that’s.for sure bittersweet.