Welp, kids, I have an 11-year-old. An official tween! And I am freaking out JUST A LITTLE BIT. How is this possible? I still feel like I should be 26, and like he should be a baby. I still miss his babyhood, what for me was a good almost three years of carefree parenting.
But my firstborn is 11, and despite my sadness about him growing up SO fast, I am thankful. SO thankful for this kid. He has taught me a lot over the years. He made me a mom, and being his mom makes me a better person every day.
The very first thing he taught me was to be thankful in all things. He taught me perspective at his birth, which was fairly harrowing. Bobby and I still joke that it was both the worst and the best day of our lives. But the truth is, it was the best. Because at the END of the day, we got a perfect baby boy, a gift from God greater than we could ever hope or imagine! And I managed to survive as well. We got a family of three…the pleasantness or unpleasantness of the birth experience is inconsequential. We learned what really matters from that baby boy that day.
Joshua has taught me the joy in little things, he’s taught me patience, he’s taught me about loving others well, and he’s taught me to be concerned about doing the right thing (which I hope I taught him first, ha ha) and not being too hasty in my actions.
He’s not perfect, I know that. Every day Bobby and I try to help him work on the areas of his character he needs to work on (*cough*laziness*cough), but he is perfect for us. We are so proud of him, so blessed to be his parents, and we can’t wait to see what God has for his future, and to enjoy every stage with him as much as we enjoyed his sweet babyhood.
Happy Birthday, Joshua Kenneth! I love you so much!
WHAT A BOY! WHAT A BIG BROTHER! WHAT A FRIEND! WHAT A GRANDSON!
Great title!
He’s a keeper.
Of course, you may want to lock him in his room for the next 6 years.
Adolescence! Yikes!