Mr. Five

I was recently reminded that your birth five years ago had the very unintentional effect of freaking me the hell out. I simply wasn't prepared for the upheaval. And all the love. And the need - how much you needed us and how much we needed you. We made so many mistakes around you. Nothing that I would classify as an actual mistake with you because then you wouldn't be you. And you my friend, are incredible. You pretty much started talking right around your first birthday and haven't stopped since. You remember everything and you are so certain. Yesterday you told me that an orange was a vegetable and when I tried to disagree, this: "Yes, it is, Mama. You're wrong." Okay, then. I just don't care enough about how we classify an orange to trifle with that fierce sense of certainty. I fear that life will do enough of that without my early intervention in this area. You've been obsessed with little toys cars from the minute you could grasp one in your hand. Buses on the street have never been met with a more enthusiastic admirer than you. Oh! those lucky buses to bask in your affection. It's genuine and real and people (and buses) literally delight in it. This Fall you will start kindergarten and you are very ready. Preschool has been mastered. You walk around saying hi to people and checking-in on the progress of little siblings - "oh! he's getting very big!" - like you own the joint. You know which car in the parking lot belongs to which family and it's you who spots and greets the parents we should recognize in the grocery store. You weigh 39 pounds and eat next to nothing. Milk remains its own food group in your world. The irony of going from a tiny infant who was so allergic to the dairy that was slipping through the breast milk that it was causing you to bleed internally is not lost on me as I stop for the third time in a week to pick up yet another gallon of milk for you. Candy holds little to no value for you, but we can make you do almost anything with the promise of french fries. You can name the planets in their proper alignment to the sun and know far more than I about why Pluto is no longer included in this list. There are still times when you ask to climb over the front seat and snuggle a little before we walk into school in the morning, but these requests happen less frequently these days. Most of the time, you are ready and prepared to face your day and when I ask you for a hug and a kiss you still comply readily. As I turn around at the door on my way out I smile and tell you to have fun and every single day you reply "you have fun at work too, Mama." I love that. I really do.

You are the best company a person could ask for. I am so happy to sit back and bask in your five-year-old glow. It's really and truly one of my greatest pleasures.