Lessons from a 6 Year Old

This week my “baby” turned six.  I spend a lot of time talking about the best ways to teach my children, today I’m going to talk about what he’s taught me.

Boys are different.  I’m not sure you are ever a fully confident parent, but the second time around you definitely think that you know a little bit more about what you are doing.  Hours after he was born, he was pushing himself up while lying on his stomach.  We knew then that this was going to be different.  This little boy was showing us he was inquisitive, strong and would not be stopped from the very start. 

Slow down.  I knew that we were not planning on having any other children, so I have always seen him as my baby.  With your first child you are excited for all their “firsts” and can’t wait until they reach those milestones.  With him I’ve wanted to slow down time and cherish every stage.  I was in no hurry for him to roll over or crawl or walk.  We celebrated the events as they came but never pushed too hard.

Speed up.  This boy has more energy than I ever knew was possible.  He can play all day, going from one activity to the next without skipping a beat.  Baseball, basketball, football, bikes, it really doesn’t matter to him.  What does matter is that he does it with a friend.  There have been many days when I’ve felt too tired, but that’s quickly forgotten when I see the pure joy on his face and am reminded that this is what is important.

Laughter is the best medicine.  I’ve said before that he is my little comedian.  His timing is impeccable.  He knows when to “perform” for the family and just be silly for the sake of getting a laugh.  He knows when someone is sad that if he can get them to laugh they will feel better.  He even knows when to mix humor with the right amount of cuteness to try to get out of trouble (and yes it works).

My cousin once told me “the days are long, but the years are short”.  On one hand the years seem to have gone by in the blink of an eye.  Yet on the other hand those late nights with little sleep seem like a very long time ago (thankfully).  It’s been an exciting 6 years and I can’t wait to see what the next 6 bring.

Heart-FULLy yours, 

Kacey