They Grow Up So Fast!

Today, I decided to let Alex walk about halfway to school. Usually I'll drop him off right in front and watch him enter the blacktop playground where he'll mingle with his friends while awaiting the morning bell. He's six, and a pretty smart, saavy kid, so this morning, I changed up our morning ritual a little bit and I let him out on the corner and he walked the rest of the way. It was a straight shot- no streets to cross or anything, and there were plenty of other kids and parents around, but I was just so nervous! I secretly drove down the street to keep an eye on him, but then he spotted me, waved and sort of rolled his eyes as if to say, "Geez mom, I'm not a baby!!!" I'm definitely not one of those annoying, uptight, over-protective moms, but is was a heartwrenching feeling to know that he really isn't a little baby anymore. He's growing up so fast. I remember when I would cradle him in my arms and rock him to sleep, and I definitely remember the "terrible two's", which were indeed terrible! I remember him watching Sesame Street and even Teletubbies, giggling at the television, and now he loves nothing more than watching Tiger Woods and Albert Pujols, cheering them on and dreaming of the day when he'll be a pro golfer or star of the Cardinals. I remember reading him bedtime stories, watching him drift into sleep, and now he can read just about anything you put in front of him. He graduated from tighty-whities to boxers, has his first crush on our 7 year old neighbor Camryn, and has one by one begun to lose his baby teeth. It's a crazy feeling to know that my baby is now a boy, and before I know it, he'll be a man. In many ways I'm fortunate to have been exposed to so many shitheads throughout my life. Perverts, assholes, cheaters, losers, etc. Because now I'll be more aware of what to teach Alex NOT to be. I am a 25 year old single female raising a little boy who will one day become a man. It's a lot of pressure, but also an honor, to know that I am responsible for raising him to be the kind of man this world needs more of: a man of integrity, morals, respect, and who makes God his top priority. Now I just need to find a man like that for me!!!