"I'm a little freaked out and scared," my daughter confessed. When I responded with a concerned why, she said, "'Cause my brother's gonna be 8 and that sound so old!." Yesterday was Du's birthday and he is reassuringly still the same sweet kid he was at 7. The two years before this one, he cranked through 3 shoe sizes a school year and in 1st grade went from size 5 clothes to size 10! He's been mistaken for a 10 year old at least 3 times and he's even been asked if he was in 5th grade. For the time being, though, his growth spurt seems to have relaxed a bit.
Don't get me wrong, 8 is big. The years fly by. But he's still enough of a child to love his new Folkmanis puppet owl with the head that swivels around. He loves the Harry Potter series and has already cast his new owl as Harry's faithful pet, Hedwig. She does a pretty fair impression of Ron's owl, Pigwidgen as well. Du and his sister have had much fun producing and acting all the parts in DIY plays and videos based on the Potter series.He's a pretty mature kid sometimes, too. When I offered to get over sized chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, bedecked with shamrock sprinkles, at Costco for his class celebration, I thought he'd jump at the suggestion. Instead he surprised me by saying, "Mom.....I don't know if ginormous cupcakes are a good idea. My class gets kinda squirrely with regular cupcakes so they might be really crazy with the huge ones." I finally talked him into it, since they use simple sugars and are much tastier than the smaller corn syrup laden cupcakes available at the local grocery chains. And the "ginormous cupcakes" were an equally huge hit and nobody got too much squirrelier than usual.
If I could impart any words of wisdom to my son for his 8th year, they'd be this: Childhood magic lasts such a short time and you have a lifetime to be grown up. So enjoy being a kid as long as you can and savor each age for the new adventures and experiences it brings. I read a quote once that you carry in you all the ages you have ever been.
Two cars ago, I used to have a bumper sticker that said "When I grow up I wanna be a kid." Well, being a Mom is kind of like that. So carry with you the sweet innocence of babyhood, the affectionate nature of toddlers, the inquisitiveness and open mind of preschoolers, and the strength, humor and playfulness of early elementary school kids.
The growing up adventure continues. And don't worry, little sister, you've got the best big brother ever, to lead the way.
Happy happy day of your beautiful birth, my coolest 8 year old pal!! Your actual day of birth still stands as one of the most amazing experiences I have had the honor to witness. And yeah- Du... he's an old soul blessed with the limitless energy and creativity of a child's ineffable imaginative magic. Goofy, wacky, fireball with a maturity that puts most "adults" to shame. I remember being at your house last summer-- big fun kids-n-adults-together party. I had dumped a plop of salsa on my pig-shaped plate (right in the ears!) and was reaching to grab a fistful of tortilla chips to plunk on the pig's face when a little boy unknowingly *yoinked* the bowl away from me. (Not to be mean, just a yoink!) I shrugged it off, too lazy to go hunt them down. Moments later, here comes DuJay-- arms full of chips. He plopped them on my plate and smiled, "I saw what happened. Here you go!!!" What a cool dude.
ReplyDeleteAnd really- I remember looking into his eyes when he was a wee baby as he watched our ceiling fan go round at Boz. I could see his brain working to figure it out-- that breeze is connected to that whirlygig! AND I could see him look at me and see me figure out what he was figuring out. Very cool little dude.
Don't worry 'Zilla. Your bro's only gonna get cooler. You're in SUCH good hands!
My love to you all. Miss you miss you miss you.