Letter to L

Dear L,

I wanted to take a moment to write you a letter.  Maybe one day you will look back on it and smile.

Quite simply, I love you.

I hope you one day understand just how much power and meaning that phrase has.

You are now 6-years-old and moving on to 1st grade.  No longer a little boy.  And I can see the evidence every single day.

You have really blossomed in the last 6 months.  Your athleticism has grown leaps and bounds.  I think it's the result of being in school and keeping up with the other boys.  You are now riding a bike with no training wheels and are drunk on your new found freedom (as I knew you would be), wanting to ride it every day.  Your balance and strength have improved.  You take way more physical risks than ever before, which just about stops my heart sometimes.  Your daddy is loving this new phase.  The two of you are always out in the backyard playing catch of some kind.  And let me tell you, you can throw a mean football boy!

Your little brother wants to do everything you do.  He adores you even though you are annoyed with him most of the time.  But every once in a while you do something so incredibly sweet for him and it reinforces my hope that you will be the best of friends when you are older.  You definitely like to be in control of the situation and have things your way but your generous heart shines through just as much.  Like how you never want me to feel bad or cry.  And always telling us how much you love us.  Boy I will NEVER tire of that!  You always want some one-on-one snuggle time with both me and daddy before bed.  And you fall asleep the second the door closes.

You love me.  And I love it.  There is always a happy face for me when I come home.  You constantly tell me how pretty I am and what a great mom I am.  Remember this and do the same for your wife. You're gonna make a fine husband one day for some lucky girl ;)

You are starting to roll your eyes at me when I act goofy but more often than not you join in the fun.  I love this about the age you're at right now.  You and me can be total goofballs together.  You have quite the imagination.  You tell awesome fish tales and then say "seriously guys", it cracks us up.

You are reading and writing now and love to write in your little notebook.  You never want to throw anything out, and you want to keep every scrap of artwork or school project you ever made.  We've given you a bin to keep things in but it is already too full!

You are handsome as the devil and I suspect that will never change.  That chin dimple is gonna getcha in trouble with the girls one day but for now you still think they're gross.  Except for mom.  But I'm not really a girl according to you.

You love nature and science and are always asking questions.  I wonder if one day you will be a scientist of some kind.  For now you want to be a farmer like your Grandpa, which is totally cool with me.

You have blessed our lives immensely and I want to cry when I think of you being a grown man with a life of your own.  When those days come, just remember that I have loved being your mother.  These years of being a little family are without a doubt the. best. days. of my life.

You rock my world L.
And I just wanted you to know it.

Love,
Mom