Six

Today you are 6! Six has been less traumatic for me than five. I think because five meant I was soon to send you off into the world on a big yellow school bus. Now, a year later, you’re already halfway through kindergarten.

School has been a bit of a challenge for you. Wait, let me rephrase that. Having you in school has been a bit of a challenge for your teacher. You love school, and get yourself up, prepped, and ready to go every morning. Your teacher tells us that academically you’re right where you need to be or better. She says you’re respectful and kind and popular. She also says you have a hard time sitting still or keeping your mouth shut.

Art, P.E. and recess seem to be your favorite “subjects”. Interestingly enough, considering the family you were born into, not music. But I think that’s less about a dislike for music and more about a dislike for music class. In fact one day you came home and announced, “Mom, I think my talent is singing. Definitely.”

Around home right now your favorite things are…freeze tag with Dad and The Sisters, Legos, football (always football), all implements John Deere, “your” pigs, sledding, hanging out with your cousin Connor, and games – Memory, Go Fish, and Trouble.

We still aren’t sure if you’re left or right-handed. You write, draw and color with your right hand. You eat cereal and throw a football with your left hand. Very interesting.

You gave wrestling a try this year and loved the practices. We only let you do one tournament, and you didn’t love that so much. But when I suggest you might like basketball instead, you get irritated with me and reply, “No, Mom, I’m a wrestler!” All right, fine then, but basketball would be so much easier on your mother. Watching you out there all alone on the mat is almost more than I can take.

You’re learning to read, and it seems to come fairly easily for you – if we can get you to sit down and work on it. For a boy who loves to be read to, you sure aren’t interested in learning to read for yourself.

You seem to love numbers. Perhaps you’ll be the one of my children that takes after me in that respect. You’re always asking me, “What’s 9 + 9? What’s 90 + 90?” And when I explain how 9 + 9 is 18, and how 90 + 90 is just like 9 + 9 except with a zero, you actually seem to get it! You love to build things. The other day I watched you work and work to construct a hollow-centered pyramid with which to entrap a toy dinosaur. And of course, as your mother, I dream big and wonder, “engineer?”

Happy Bithday, buddy.

Love,
yo mama

3 years ago:

Five