on being five

 I ran into a friend at the grocery store the other day.  She commented on how Eli's face had morphed into a "boy's" face during the summer months.  True, he has gone through a growth spurt during these past few months.  His legs are longer and leaner and he is a few pounds heavier-though he still is a tiny thing.  The chubby cheeks I had kissed on when he was an infant, the round face that beamed throughout his toddler years have thinned, accentuating his dimpled cheeks.  He has grown right before my very eyes and I feel it bittersweet.

Five.  Even though he will not yet be in Kindergarten, he is still at a school age.  My heart aches to think of him growing up.  I hold on to his sweet kisses and hugs a little longer because I know it won't be the cool thing to do as he gets older.

I remember an elderly woman telling me to cherish the moments I had with my baby boy years ago, 'it all goes by so quickly,' she said.  I politely nodding and agreed but inside I was dying from lack of sleep and the constant turmoil of a colicky baby.  I wanted that time to pass, like a flash of lightning I wanted to take that quantum leap through space and time.  And now, almost five years after that conversation, I get it.  There is no need for a magic time portal. Time does go by quickly, cherish it.

And so here is to my beautiful boy.  So loving, caring and a genuinely happy boy.  I can honestly say I don't believe I've ever met a happier child.  Happy "Five" Birthday.