Friday, February 15, 2008
Raising a Boy
"A young boy doesn't come with instructions. He just comes with boundless love and an adventurous spirit. But the journey to manhood begins very early...the first time he looks at his dad and thinks, 'I want to be like him'" - Harry Harrison author of Life Lessons on Raising a Boy
Before Colton was born, I knew Jason would be a great father by the way he treated me. He is kind, caring, compassionate, responsible, sincere, and most imporatnt, has the kind of morals, respect and integrity that I have learned are the pinacle of life. He's not perfect, nor would I want him to be, but he knows his flaws and accepts them and tries to fix them when he can.
When I was pregnant we saw a little boy in the neighborhood riding his bike on the sidewalk. He had hit the breaks and turned around to look at the ground. Jason , with a big smile on his face, mentioned that he used to do the same thing as a child. I had no idea even what the little boy was doing and he told me that he had looked behind him to check out his skidmark on the sidewalk from his bike. I remember thinking how happy and blessed I was to have him in my life...to show Colton all the "boy" things that I had no idea about. To teach him how to treat girls (and to tell him he doesn't understand them sometimes either, even as a grown-up), how to pee standing up, how to spit, to be there at his sports games when Colton says, "Dad, did you see me?", and over the years to teach him how to be a good man. So, thank you Jason, you mean more to me now that ever. I love you.
Time
I think when a child is born a switch is flipped to make the passage of time even faster. Colton's 6 month birthday past this week and I have never experienced a faster time lapse than the last 6 months. Granted, the first 8 weeks or so seemed to drag with the endless feedings and sleepless nights, but that quickly faded away and suddenly we find ourselves looking towards his first birthday this summer.
I also find myself thinking about the "next step". Now that he sits up, when will he crawl? Will he walk soon after? When can I give him table food? I recently heard a quote that went something like, "The greatest accomplishments in life are in the experiences in getting there, not the accomplishment itself". I think about that sometimes....the little moments that mean more than the big milestones. When I ask him for a kiss and he leans forward and plants a slobbery mess on my chin.Or when I am putting him to bed, instead of laying him down right away after he eats, I bask in the sweetness of him laying his head down on my shoulder for a few minutes. I'll take those moments any day and ask time to stand still.
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