My superhero, you are a young boy of four now. You are past your toddlerhood years, and your thinning face cannot deny that. I’m not going to ask where the time went, because I’ve been doing this for four years now, and I know that time tends to act strangely when you’re a parent. It stretches and shrinks in odd ways that perhaps would never make sense to me, and I made my peace with that.
You’ve been counting down the days until you birthday, and your wishlist kept getting longer by the minute. By the time you turned four, your list included a trampoline, a set of drums, a fire pole, and a rocket ship with a button that, when pressed, would launch the rocket ship into space. I struggled to keep a serious face as your list stretched the limits of what was possible, but it made me happy that, in your eyes, mommy and daddy were capable of making it come true.
You are so curious about the world, and you love playing outside. I could leave you outdoors for hours and you’d be perfectly happy. You love collecting rocks, and you have a huge rock collection. I suspect that when the time comes for us to move out of our place, you’d have collected every rock in our courtyard.
You understand the concept of jokes, and you have a wonderful sense of humor. You enjoy coming up with new ones to tell mommy and daddy. I love the way you chuckle at your own jokes, and I have a strong feeling that you’d be the funny kid in class when you start going to school.
You love playing with other kids, and one of the things I’m most proud about is how good you are at sharing. You so openly offer your toys to your friends, and I don’t recall a moment when you refused to share. This fills my heart with tremendous joy.
You are becoming more independent. You know how to dress yourself, how to entertain yourself during your quiet time, how to make decisions and how to play with your friends and resolve many conflicts. As I watch you grow, I’m often left with a mixture of of happiness at your emerging independence, and sadness at the things I have to say goodbye to. But I remind myself that it’s ok to hold two conflicting feelings at the same time – One doesn’t cancel the other.
I find myself clinging to certain parts of you that I know would soon go away. I occasionally help you get dressed, push you on the swing, and carry you up or down the stairs when you ask me to. I know that before I realize it, you’d be too big to need mommy’s help for those things. Although it would hurt to let go, I know I’d be glad that I savored those moments with you.
Happy 4th birthday, my little superhero.