We have this magnet on our refrigerator that's a picture of Jacob at
15 months old. It's been on the refrigerator of all five houses we've
lived in since then, and it's something I rarely notice since it's
primary purpose is to hold up whatever papers the schools send home.
For me, it gets lost in the chaos of papers "decorating" the appliance,
but Benjy notices it.
"That's Jacob when he was a baby," he told me the other day, and then with all the nostalgia a five-year-old can muster, he sighed. "Babies don't last."
I laughed at his word choice, but his sentiment was on target. Babies don't last.
"That's Jacob when he was a baby," he told me the other day, and then with all the nostalgia a five-year-old can muster, he sighed. "Babies don't last."
I laughed at his word choice, but his sentiment was on target. Babies don't last.
Yesterday,
Benjy started kindergarten. In the picture I snapped before he climbed
on the bus to school, Benjy looks much as he did last year when he
started at the same school for pre-K. Same uniform. Same
haircut. Same smile. But I know that he's grown another pants size and
three shoe sizes, and that this year, he knew what to expect as he
re-immersed into the bilingual school day. He'd been waiting for this
day for the past month, when Jacob had gone off to third grade in
California without him. He was ready and confident.
Andrew cried as we watched the bus pull away, sad to see another brother leave him behind. I squeezed him tight and kissed his baby soft cheek. One day too soon, he will wave goodbye to me and climb aboard the bus with "Bindy" and "Beebob."
"Don't be in a hurry to grow up," I whispered in his ear. "Babies don't last."
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| My babies in 2010. |
I'm crying!
ReplyDeleteThis blog is too real and tears at the heart of any mother anywhere, even your own.
Our little men are so handsome.
love, mom
They change so fast! It's breathtaking.
ReplyDeleteOk. You made me cry. My babies are going into 5th grade and 11th -- how did that happen?? I totally get Andrew's sadness at seeing them go off to their schools and that Momma pride of knowing they are going off prepared and excited for new challenges. Here's to a great school year for both your boys, and a special fun year for Andrew who gets a bit of 'single child' spoiling and attention!
ReplyDeleteJust one of the jerky things babies do: grow up.
ReplyDeleteI know - they don't and that makes me sad. I wish mine could (have) stayed babies longer!!!
ReplyDeleteforgot to add that I linked to you here:http://webtexans.wordpress.com/2012/08/27/bittersweet/
ReplyDeleteHoping all the boys have had a great start to the new school year!