We have been home together for a year now. We have had some trying times, you and me. But like everything, we figured it out together. We have had more playdates than I can count. We have read every book you own five times at least. We have fed ducks and gone on boats. We find turtles in our pond and we make crafts. We go on long walks and you hold my hand and I hold yours.
But my favorite thing to do is to watch you play. It's when you don't think I am watching you that I get to glimpse at the type of person you are going to be.
While I proudly brag that you are smart and funny and sweet and obviously take after me, I see so much of your daddy. You have his eyes and his smile. And of course, that dimple that everyone falls in love with is also his. But I see the type of man you will be and I already am bursting with pride.
I see you watch cautiously at a park or playscape. You size up every baby and teenager in there before you jump in. You're content to watch your friends and cousins jump into activities with reckless abandon as you smile on the sidelines to yourself. Perfectly content without the spotlight on you. Always with that dimple in clear sight so I know you really mean it. Just like your dad.
I see you stop what you're doing when you hear another kid cry. I watch you run over to say "It's ok" and rub their backs. While you point to his or her parent and get their attention. I see you wait until that child is in safe hands before you resume your own play.
I see you running. Always behind the pack. Not because you're the slowest or a follower, but because it takes you the extra second to join the group and be yourself. To let yourself go and be the silly boy that you truly are.
I see your friends want to play princesses and you take your dinosaur to the tea party. Because while you are part of the group, you never let go of the things that are important to you. And when your friends decide to do something you have no interest in, I see you again, content on your own, reading to yourself or stuffed animals. Unphased by the fact that your friends have gone on without you. Completely and totally happy. And I hope you never lose that.
You may be okay not being in the spotlight, but you're the star of my show. You're confidant and sweet like your mom. You're cautious and just the right amount of shy like your dad. You're our son. That's for sure. And sometimes...just sometimes, I catch a glimpse of myself in your smile. And then I see that dimple.
I love you. The way you are. The way you will be.
Go Dream Those Big Dreams,
Momma
Until Soon,
Kate
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