Friday, October 05, 2012

Hello, Seven!

I’m running out of cake. And lunch meat and fruit squeezies and waffles. Well, it’s no wonder – I have a seven in my house.

Boy eldest is seven today. Seven. That is crazy stuff, yo. Seven years ago I unknowingly stepped into the Parenting Time Warp. Sam came out of the sunroof, he had a couple bottles and dirtied a few diapers and before I knew it he was unloading my refrigerator each day after school and saying things like, “I need to use the john.”

Despite the speed at which this growing-up crap is happening, I love this age. More than ever before, I have an insight into the man Sam will one day become. He loves to build things and draw. He snuggles me like he’s still a toddler and he storms away when he gets mad. When friends are too much for him, he sneaks off to unwind and regroup in his room, alone. He loves to brush my hair as we talk about his day; all the while instructing me on how to get my hair to shine like satin.

He says, “Fair enough” when I throw my Mom-logic at him. Most adults handle conversations with less grace.

Sam challenges me – oh can he get under my skin! When he doesn’t want to do a thing, he roots himself like an old oak tree. He is unmovable. He throws his dirty clothes and wet towels on the floor, despite my constant haranguing. He is opinionated and strong-willed. When Sam and I battle wills, we are like a force of nature. High pressure meeting low pressure. Molten lava flowing into the cool, blue sea. Apple vs. PC.

Oh Sam, you and I can really go at it!

But he has a deeply profound impact on my life. Yes, with him I became a mother, but it is so much more than that. Sam makes me a better person. He makes me question my words and think around a problem for the best possible solution. He shows me there are different ways to do things; fast and furious isn’t always better than slow and methodical. He makes me pick apart my parenting and piece the puzzle back together again. I often bang my head from this exercise, but in the end I know I’m a better mom for it. And he waits patiently while I work it all out.

He does all of this just by being him.

Sam, you are a handful. You are passionate and intelligent and you want to know why. “Because I said so,” pisses you off as much as it did me when I was your age. You test me and you charm me and my love for you is immeasurable.

You are my son.

As you so eloquently wrote in a card to me, “I love you 100,000,000,600,820,000 kisses and hugs. I think that you are the best!”

Right back ‘atcha, Bananas.

 

“Seven” by They Might Be Giants

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