to my sweet boy on his third birthday

"Love that boy,
like a rabbit loves to run
I said I love that boy
like a rabbit loves to run
Love to call him in the morning
love to call him
"Hey there, son!"

from the poem, Love That Boy by Walter Dean Myers. I love this poem. To love a boy, is not hard. Not hard at all. 

A good friend and her new baby came to visit. Afterward, she reflected that Woody gave her son something to aspire to; to play with trains and jump off things. His two favorite things. Also fishing from the couch.

Woody's speech delights me. Sparse, but technical. Sometimes, mostly while riding in the car, he will ramble about what the cars are doing and what parts they have, ending with a Larry The Cable Guy-sounding, "See......I told 'ja."

He loves to listen to stories. He will listen to as many as I will read. We read The Little Engine That Could. "I BINK I can, I BINK I can."

Elwood, I love you just as you are. And I'm willing to see where this life is going to take us. Happy third birthday, Baby. 

Love,

Mom

now she is six

Our neighbor recently gave Ramona some seashells, leftover from a renovation project. An abundance of shells. Ramona really wanted to take a shell to school to give to a friend, but her teacher said she had to bring a shell for everyone. Which was better yet, in Ramona's mind. So, Ramona told me about this golden opportunity, and I was really put off. I thought it would be annoying to the teacher, and it wasn't like we got them on vacation or anything. They were just glued to some baseboards in our neighbor's house. So I distracted her from the idea. I will talk to your teacher, I tell her. I will ask her about the shells. Except, Ramona insists, it's totally fine with the teacher. This goes on.

Until one evening, Ramona pulls an empty baggie from her backpack, and tells me she took shells to her class today, and it was fine with her teacher, but I just wouldn't listen to her so she just did it.

***

Today is Ramona's birthday, she is 6 years old. For her birthday she wanted Care Bears. Big and small, soft stuffed colorful bears. She wants "the whole collection." On the way home from her birthday evening at the park, she tells Brian and me that a girl at school said Care Bears were for babies. And Ramona tells her,

"That is an opinion."

***

Happy Birthday, Ramona. This is the life we are spending together. I love it.

Love,
Mom