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Dear Son, You're Five!


--- 5 Years Old ---

Dear Son,

Today, you turn five years old. 

It's been a while since I've officially dropped a note to you on this platform. I've been obsessed with watching you grow and develop over the past year (or so). From your humor to your love for science and of course, the outright obsession with Spiderman right now. It's nothing that I accurately imagined, and yet everything I expected.

I really wanted to express some thoughts via a post here a few weeks ago when you confidently walked into your new Elementary school for the Fall with confidence and wonder. The way that you let go of my hand, turned, looked and Mom and I as we sat in the hallway, and then proceeded into the classroom for your Kindergarten assessment - all of it in that moment - filled me with pride and a sense of accomplishment that I haven't found the words to accurately describe.

At five, everything you are has been [insert whatever that accurate adjective is] to watch. You've got your own sense of style and interests which has been amazing.  I'd be remiss if I didn't mention here your wacky habit of walking into our bathroom after you wake up (sometimes, completely undressed), with no regard for who is in there, and suddenly standing over the toilet looking half-asleep and relieving your bladder of the previous evening's apple juice or lemonade. The entire ordeal is as if your previous night's engagement was a difficult one. Of course, your hair makes it all. 

But most of all, I'm so glad that the creativity and empathy that you showed early signs of are still there. 

While the excess of drawings, crafts, and random Lego projects drives me nuts, I appreciate them all. I truly can't get enough of them. Seeing what you create and how you create in the moment has become one of my favorite things. 

On this day, when you not only turn five but "step up" with a ceremony from Pre-K, I'm just over the moon about the boy you're becoming. I figured I would punch the keys on this note BEFORE your ceremony later today, as sometimes, words just don't do the justice of how I truly feel about you, kid. There are a lot of drafts to account for that. And that's just been the case. 

Regardless, Happy Birthday! And for the double whammy - congratulations! 

Love, Dad
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