Then I blinked, and this is him today:
No kidding, folks, it happened that fast.
I had four months of maternity leave when he was born, and I spent most of it holding him, as though I could bank that time for when I had to go back to work.
Silver lining time (I always have one): Being away from him all day, I didn't see him ease into each little developmental milestone; instead, I was surprised with a hit right between the eyes by them.
On his first Halloween, which was less than two weeks after I returned to work, I dressed him in a little clown costume he had been given as a gift (because I swear to GOD I would never have purchased a clown costume for him myself), then sat him on the floor, holding him in a sitting position with one hand while I got ready to take a picture with the other hand. As soon as I had the camera pointed and ready to go, I quickly let go of him, hoping to snap a picture of him in a sitting position before he toppled over. Only he didn't fall. He sat there, propping himself up with one hand.
"How long have you been able to do THAT?" I asked him.
He continued to sit and drool a little. He could sit up and I DIDN'T KNOW, because he was at daycare all day. BAM! Right between the eyes.
When he was six months old, I was dying from a sinus infection and pink eye (which, miraculously, I did not pass on to my son, even while breastfeeding him). One evening, while I was lying on my side on the couch, feeling miserable and sorry for myself, he crawled over to me. I was gazing down at the top of his ginger head through my filmy, pink-eye infected eyes when suddenly, he rose, pulling himself up on the edge of the couch and standing there grinning at me. A few minutes later, he lowered himself back to the ground, only to pull himself up again, and not only stand there but also to cruise a few steps along the couch.
"When did you learn how to do THAT?"
He was around 20 months old and was sitting on the couch with me while I read to him. He pointed a finger about an inch from my eyeball and said, "Mommy. Eyes. Geen"
Um, what?
"Mommy, Eyes. Geen," he repeated.
"Yesss, Mommy's eyes ARE green. How did you know that?" I pointed to the blue couch. "What color is this?"
"Boo."
That's two correct. Is it a fluke?
I continued to quiz him, with him accurately telling me the color of different items as I pointed to them.
"Ornch."
"Wed."
"Bwack."
I was beyond surprised.
And then I blinked. And now he's graduating from high school.
He's graduating with honors, giving a commencement speech, planning to become an interventional cardiologist.
Nothing surprises me about this. Nothing at all.
Linking to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt #2 - Share something your child said or did that surprised you.
Funny. He looks so much like David in the first picture. And in his senior pic he looks more like you. I find that quite cool, actually.
ReplyDeleteYou should, indeed, be extremely proud. :-)
Even if his speech is long. And traditional.
What's funnier is he looks like my brother. And David's sister's son looks like David.
DeleteThe speech will be short and sweet. Okay, short.
Yay! Congrats.
ReplyDeleteWow, powerful post. I am always amazed at how quickly the kids figure something out then act like it's old hat. Time does fly!
ReplyDeleteThank you! He used to practice with new vocabulary until he got it right and then would fit the new word into every sentence he could.
DeleteOh my....I almost didn't want to finish reading this, because my son is 15 and I know that all too soon, I'll be having to write a post like this lol. It's kind of bittersweet watching them grow so quickly.
ReplyDeleteIt IS bittersweet, but the best advice I ever got about the whole graduation thing was to save crying for if they DON'T graduate. They're SUPPOSED to reach this milestone just as much as the earlier ones of sitting up and walking and talking.
DeleteI wish they made little eye props so that I wouldn't blink and witness how quickly they go from little boy to young man!
ReplyDeleteWhen he was little, people always told us it would go by fast, and they weren't kidding!
DeleteCongrats Dyanne! Just wait, you will blink again and college graduation is next. My daughter's was Friday 5/17 and I'm still reeling from it.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Miriam! College graduation is a whole different story. I can still fool myself into thinking my son's still just a kid. You have a bona fide adult on your hands! Congratulations to you, too!
DeleteBittersweet, isn't it? I loved those early days so much, but what an awesome thing to witness the people they become. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteThank you! You just can't imagine it when they are itty bitty, can you?
DeleteAack! Do NOT tell me it goes that fast...mine is starting Kindergarten and I am so not ready. Such a handsome and smart young man you have there - congratulations to both of you!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lisa! The good news is it's a snowball effect, so you're good for a few more years. Once they hit high school, WHOOSH!
DeleteYer killing me with the baby-to-graduate photos. My heart. I can totally relate to your stories about developmental milestones. I worked most of the time when my first was in daycare. One day she started to spell her name on her drawings and I was in shock. Come to find out she had been doing it for weeks at daycare. Duh, Mom.
ReplyDeleteNot all developmental milestones are bad to miss. I would have been cool if he had been potty-trained at daycare, but, alas, I quit working when he was two and had to do it myself....
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