Five

He'll probably climb a tree too tall

And ride his bike too fast

End up every summer wearing something in a cast

He's gonna throw a ball and break some glass
In a window down the street

He's gonna get in trouble
He's gonna get in fights
I'm gonna lose my temper

And some sleep

I can seem him right now, knees all skinned up

With a magnifying glass trying to melt a Tonka truck

Won't he be a sight with his football helmet on

That'll be his first love 'till his first love comes along.

He'll probably stay out too late

And drive his car too fast

Get a speeding ticket that he'll pay for mowing grass

He's gonna get caught skipping class

And be grounded for a week

He's gonna get in trouble

We're gonna get in fights

I'm gonna lose my temper

And some sleep

He's gonna love me

And hate me along the way

The years are gonna fly by

And I already dread the day

He's gonna hug his Mama, gonna shake Dad's hand

He's gonna act like he can't wait to leave

But as he drives out

He'll cry his eyes out
If he's anything like me . . .

The strangest thing happens when you become a parent.  Your days, they are longer than ever.  They seem to stretch on endlessly and there are times when naps and bed cannot come soon enough.  But the years?  The years are short.  Before you know it, you look up and your baby has turned into a little boy. 

Today my boy, my oldest boy, is five.  I feel like it was just yesterday that he came into my life, all dimples and curls.  I feel like it was just yesterday that he was a roly poly baby with an easy smile and infectious laugh. I feel like it was just yesterday that he was tearing into his smash cake on his very first birthday.  I feel like all of it was just yesterday.  And now he's already five.

The years.  They are short.

I know it's only five.  But these five years have flown by with such an amazing speed -- a speed that I never thought possible when I suffered through Geometry in ninth grade wondering if each 50 minute class was ever going to end -- that I know one of these days I'm going to look up and I won't be holding a little boy anymore.  I'll be hugging a near grown man. 

He's taken me on quite an interesting ride the past five years.  I would give anything to hold him one more time as a newborn.  But I could skip quite a few of the toddler antics -- from pouring syrup all over our couch to the time he ran through my bedroom with an open bottle of hair dye (those carpets never were quite the same).

For every "interesting" moment with this little boy . . . for every single time I've lost my patience . . . the great moments have outnumbered them tenfold.  Wonderful memories.  Snuggles and cuddles and the kind of love  you can only really experience if you have the pleasure - the gift - of being the Mama of a little boy.

Happy Birthday Jaybird!  I love you to the moon and back.  And even though you drive me crazy and cause me to lose my temper and lose some sleep, I wouldn't have it any other way.  I love you for your you-ness.  We've made it halfway through a decade and one of these days, if you have one who is anything like you, you'll understand just why exactly that's to be celebrated!  I love you!