Dear August,
Today, you are
ten whole years. My baby boy. My gentle soul. My perfect middle. It feels like
yesterday that you came into this world so peacefully and you’ve never rocked
the boat since. A friend to everyone. A brother to Oskar and Maren and a keeper
of the peace in your sibling dynamic.
You’re in 4th
grade this year and moved into a new school. You made so many new friends and
filled your party guest list with names I’ve never heard. You’re growing
taller, taller, taller, and are still off the charts in your size every time
it’s measured. You got braces this year, perfecting your little kid smile. Your
hair is gelled, you started wearing contacts, you wear head to toe Nike. All of
the pre-teen boxes checked. You’ve changed so much this year and every time
somebody sees you they ask, "Has he grown a foot?"
You love sports. Your
passion is football and you know every name of every NFL player and can rattle
of stats going back years. You still sprawl on your bedroom floor and play with
teeny-mate figurines, announcing made-up play off games always with the most
dramatic endings.
You started
playing Beadling this year and have grown so much as a soccer player. You were
so proud to make the team and our rides to practices and games are some of my
favorite time spent with you, playing your favorite songs and talking about
your day. You quarterbacked your flag football team, learned to ski, played a
season of rec baseball, and were a leading scorer in basketball. You won the championship in flag football on a team with Oskar and it will forever be one of my favorite memories for you.
The theme of
August is slow but steady. Your pace is your own, but you always end up exceeding
expectations. You work so hard for everything you have, and i know that ethic
instilled in you will take you so far. I’m so proud of you for the hours you
log at the homework table or at practices, all in pursuit to make you even
better.
We read the
Wayside Stories and Ben Yokoyama series together this year and you really liked
both. Still a stats and figures guy, you’d rather flip through sports trivia
books or read about the history of the Steelers.
You filled my
Amazon cart with footballs, squishies, and costumes for your birthday. A goofy 10-year-old with just a little bit of kid left in him.
You’re still a
night owl and listen to the same Big Nate audio books until way past your
bedtime, even though you can recite every word.
We traveled to Italy and Finland this year with all of our family and made pizza, took water taxis to the coastal towns in Amalfi, and swam in the sun. We went to Mexico for your 10th birthday and made it the best trip ever for you. Your passport is filling up. You've now been to Denmark, the Netherlands, Scotland, Norway, Italy, Mexico, and Finland (many, many times).
We held a friend party at your favorite Sportsplex where you played baseball,
football, and kickball and got all the football cards you could dream of. I love seeing you surrounded by all of your friends, telling inside jokes and giggling for hours on end.
Your love to be
out in the sunshine and thrive when you can throw a football or catch a
baseball in the yard. You started having Hobbes field your balls, and it makes
my entire heart explode watching you two playing together like the most
picturesque snapshot of childhood you could imagine.
I’m a month late
for this update for the first time ever, indicative of just how busy this
season of life is. From all of the soccer practices, football, and guitar, sometimes
I feel like our heads are spinning managing it all, but you really are thriving.
My biggest wish for you is to be confident and brave. Your self-doubt can hold
you back, but when you believe in yourself just a little bit, huge things
happen for you. You are shining in all the ways right now, and I’m just so
proud of you. I couldn’t love you any more. To my favorite boy—I adore you. Happy
birthday.
Love, Mama
