Lately, I've been faced with a dilemma. Like every parent, you hope that your child will grow up and become a good person, someone who can care and love and be happy. But do they have to do it NOW? Less than two years ago, I brought home a toddler, a little guy who was still trying to figure out how to jump on one foot (something he practiced constantly!). In that short time, I've seen him go from toddler to little boy (oh, sorry, Emmett - you're such a BIG boy).
In the past month, he has lost his first tooth, and yes, the tooth fairy came to visit. He was so excited that the tooth fairy would come that he couldn't sleep. At 10:30 I checked on him before we went to bed and there he was wide awake. He started to cry that he couldn't fall asleep because the tooth fairy was coming. He knew that he had to be asleep before she comes. =) He did finally fall asleep, and the tooth fairy arrived. Stuffing a $1 bill into the tooth monkey. (Thanks Aunt Jan! It's come in handy already)
He has also begun to play soccer, which he is really pretty good at. Despite scoring on himself a couple of times, he's learning and getting the hang of dribbling, passing, and shooting. Nothing is more funny than watching 28 3-4 year olds follow a soccer ball like a pack of wolves. Emmett accidentally knocked a little girl down, and without breaking stride called over his shoulder "sorry!". If only all sports could be so polite. =)
And lastly, he learned to ride a two-wheeler. His training wheels were so useless that Craig worked to get him riding without them. Three tries on a long straight section of side-walk in front of Lake Michigan is all it took. Now we enjoy bike rides all three of us - no one pulling an extra 50 pounds of kid and equipment behind their bike. We've been to local trails (Emmett calls them bumpy trails) and he's done up to 4 miles. He's a trooper even when he gets tired, although the whining I could do without. (couldn't we all?)
You see why I'm struggling with this sudden onset of growing up? In a flash I foresaw my 10 year old son riding mountain bike trails with his Appa, coming home with a bloody lip from hitting a tree. I could see him actually beating me (for real) in a bike race up a hill. In that same flash, I saw myself seated on the side of a soccer field telling him again, to pay attention to where the ball is. It's so shocking how quickly they learn, how fast they start to grow up. I just want to savor this age a little longer.
At the same time, I'm a proud Omma to be watching him grow up to be a little man. He has his problems, his times where he needs to sit on the time-out chair, don't get me wrong, he's not perfect. But he is my little boy, and when people at soccer turn and ask "Is he yours?" I beam with pride (up until my parents reply, "yes"). Yeah, he's mine - he's my grown up 4 and a half year old.
