My precious first born, there’s an elephant in the room. I can sense it. You can sense it. But it’s been hard to put our fingers on just what it is. But, I think I’ve figured it out. You’re 8 now. And my oh my, there’s no questioning it anymore: you’re a certifiable boy. Not a toddler, not a little kid. With a fierce sense of independence, you are, indeed, a boy who is quickly striding toward young man status.
I look at pictures of you from a year ago and the physical changes I see are amazing. You have lost your baby face. Your smile now is made up adult front teeth. Your features are more pronounced. Your shoulders are widening and you are getting stronger by the day. Heck, I could swear you are taller than you were last week.
The changes this year have been more than physical. You have own ideas and individual thoughts. And, you now wield the ability (and vocabulary) to articulate those thoughts with precision. Your inquisitive nature has resulted in you asking some pretty deep and thoughtful questions. The nature of being a child is that you are always standing on the cusp of big changes. The difference at 8 is that you are old enough, and wise enough to know these changes are happening and that more are on the horizon. I can feel your trepidation. You are a bit uneasy at times in your ever-changing world. Guess what? I am too. After all, now I’m the Mom to a big kid and my role in your life is also evolving. Being your mom feels somehow so different than it did just a couple of years ago.
You’re still a kid. We still hold breezy conversations about Legos, favorite sea mammals, Pokemon, and the occasional cement truck. But the subject matter for us is diving a bit deeper these days. We’ve talked about religion, your changing body, and even a bit about politics. And the dichotomy of 8 years old is that we can talk about these things on the way to school, yet, when it comes to dropping you off, you still ask me some days to hold your hand and walk you to the door. You still want to hug and kiss me and tell me you love me, no matter how many of your friends are around. And you most certainly still have the irrational moments that only kids can have.
Time stops for no one. You stand now at the precipice between “little” and “big” and navigating these changes is not always easy for you, or I. But no matter your age, I hope you know I will always be there for you and that I’m proud as heck to be your Mom.
