Dear William (79 months)

Dear William,

Today, you are 79 months old!

You started off the month with 19 teeth, and you are ending it with 18.  

You rode your bike 8 miles alongside me as I ran (the farthest you had ridden to date), and you didn't even complain when the weather turned and we had 50 mph wind gusts on the way home.  Well, you never complained, but about 1/2 a mile from home, you did tell me, "Eight miles was a bad idea, mama."  

The next weekend, you rode your bike 10 with your dad. 

You got a Major Award at school. We're not really sure what it was for.  I think it was for meeting an arbitrary reading goal they had set for you and you'd been struggling to reach because it wasn't something you were developmentally ready to do, even though Common Core said you should be.  Whatever.  You are brilliant, no matter whether the education system recognizes it or not.

Your dad got you some new pajamas because you had outgrown all your other ones.

The biggest thing this month was that the snow finally melted and your dad set up the trampoline we got you for Christmas.  You love it. Every day after school you rush home and immediately go outside and jump for an hour or more.  After the first day, you had a bit of D.O.M.S. (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness).  But you didn't let that stop you.  You kept right on jumping.  I love the way you have the most gigantic smile on your face the whole time.

You finished off the month by having a career day at school.  The career you chose was an astronaut.  It was a nice way to re-purpose your Halloween costume.

William, I am so proud of you.  You are sweet and kind and brave and strong.  Our days just go by so quickly, though, and I never feel like I have enough time with you.  When I finish tucking you in at night, you sometimes wrap your arms around me and say, "Stay, mommy."  And the truth is, I want to stay so much.  It is so hard for me to leave you in your room, but there are other things I have to do at night after you go to sleep.  So I tell you, William, how about this.  You dream about me, and I'll dream about you, and that way, we'll be together even in our sleep.

Love always,

Mama