Happy Birthday

A letter to my big boy, on his third birthday.

Dear Bub,

I can't believe we're here already. My  big boy's turning three.

On Thursday you'll start solo swimming lessons. Next fall you'll be off to pre-school. You can hit a slap shot right past me, and you throw a whiffle ball more accurately than I ever could.

You are this remarkable little boy. You make me laugh. You've taught me more about love in your three short years than I had learned in the twenty-eight previous.

Motherhood has not been easy for me. Patience is not a virtue that I have in excess. I know that I'll have much to apologize for, and I'll happily pay for your years of psychotherapy.  I'm doing the best I can, and learning as I go. I'm trying really, really hard - I swear.

Though I am working so hard, the reality is, I am learning more from you than you are learning from me. I hear you in your crib every morning laughing, singing, recounting one of the hundred or so storybooks you have memorized - you greet the day with joy. Every day.

You are quick to laugh, and even quicker to forgive.

The things I want to teach you are so simple.
Life is good.
Love unconditionally.
It's more important to be happy than right.
You already seem to know all of it, and I am discovering that it is my job to help you grow up without destroying that underlying goodness and knowledge.

All I would ever want for you - it's already there. I just have to nourish it. Protect and encourage. Then let go.

I know you'll fly higher than I could ever dream, because you already have.

You are a miracle. The best gift I have ever been given.

It is an honor to share a portion of your life - I hope I can do you proud. Of all the things I do in my life - mothering will be my greatest achievement. The hardest work I've ever done, and the most profoundly important undertaking I've ever been a part of.

Now I'll shower your with presents and cake - you deserve the best birthday, ever. But you want to know a secret? You're the gift. You. A gift to all of us who get to know you - and that's why we celebrate.

Happy Birthday.

Love,
Mama




Photo by Derek