Austin grew up so much this past year. But to tell you the truth, I often sense that inside the mind and heart of our little boy is full grown character from some epic tale that has already lived epic adventures and traveled the world over. It's as if there's an ancient sage trapped in a little boy's body patiently waiting for the size, skills and faculties to properly tell his story. When he was born his Aunt Jana looked at him and said, "Those feet have already been places." I think it's true.
Thus, it is so exciting to watch him grow and learn and begin to express his inner self in new ways. Here are a few of the attributes I've seen emerge this past year....
STEADY LEARNER
This time last year, Austin was in preschool. He did not love the academia but did love playing with a room full of little boys all day. Apparently, they loved him too. According to his teacher, Mrs. Patsy, the other boys would fight over who got play with Austin and vie for position as "Austin's best friend." Yet, through it all, Austin never showed favoritism and instead played calmly with them all throughout the year. A year which culminated with a preschool graduation ceremony through which the typically crowd-hating Austin marched proudly and confidently!
However, starting Kindergarten was something else all together. The first day was one of the hardest for him (and me). It took weeks of meltdowns at home and at school before things normalized. One day he said to me, "Mom, I don't want to go. I just miss you toooo much!" I'm sure you can imagine my near heart failure. BUT as we expected, he soon came to love school. Once he was confident in the routine, environment and came to trust his beloved teacher Ms. Lampman, we started to see him truly enjoy using the new skills he was learning at school like doing science experiments and writing stories!!
CLEVER BUILDER
This part is not new. He has been making cool stuff ever since his little hands could stack one thing on another. Building is definitely one of his outlets for creative expression, and it is fun to watch his creations become more intricate as his academic skills increase. This is typified (as any mom of a 5-yr-old boy will tell you) by the foray into Legos...
BRAVE ADVENTURER
Okay, this one is not so new either. But this year he had the opportunity to explore new lands and use new tools that are essential to the spirit of adventure. Running wild in the Redwoods, hiking for miles to discover a black sand beach, wrestling waves and for sand for hours--those experiences are soaked into his bones and will not be forgotten. Building fires, wielding a pocket knife and learning to bear the responsibility of both--that's new.
MIGHTY WARRIOR
He is a warrior and a fiery one at that. I love it. For now, he is the victorious hero of imaginary battles in which he uses his strength and cunning to combat any "bad guy" who would dare obscure his path. I will not discourage such wiles of his imagination. Because I believe they are good practice. I believe he is destined to be a leader. I believe he is destined to use his strength and his imagination to combat the real woes of our age. There is a Victorious Hero within him, and I always want him to believe that.
TENDER CHILD
Yet for all the epic-ness about him, he is still our sweet tender boy. His heart is full of love, innocence and purity. He still adores his stuffed animals, is unabashed about kissing us or holding our hand and clings to us when he's scared. I know that these childhood sweetnesses will soon be replaced by some kind of older-kid awesomeness, but for now I cherish him just as he is.
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