Maturity

We did our Father’s Day stuff a day early this year, trucking over to Shreveport to go to SciPort. I feel like I should feel guilty for trying to ‘geek’ my kid up, but in all honesty I don’t think I could change him if I tried. He loves science—mostly astronomy, which he is thrilled to share with his dad. One of my favorite moments of the day was when he climbed up in the clubhouse in the younger kids section and saw the telescope. He immediately screeched across the room, “Hey Dad, look! It’s a telescope!” and looked through it to see Robert.

I can’t say how proud I am of how he’s growing up. He reads, much to the surprise of strangers and much to the joy of my heart. I treasure the afternoon reading time we share—he with his book, me often with mine, snuggled on the couch and feeding our imaginations. Sometimes, I’ll share a book with him and let him read to me, filling in on the harder words and letting him stop to ask me questions. Either way, it’s good stuff.

On top of the reading, he’s getting really good at navigating the day to day stuff that used to make me really nervous. We instituted a chore chart for him a few weeks ago and he dutifully does his daily jobs, usually without whining (unless it’s laundry, which he’s still not excited about), and checks them off. He loves having the satisfaction of seeing all that he’s accomplished for the day and I love seeing him develop a healthy attitude about housework. It’s something that will likely never disappear from his life, so I’m glad that he’s not going to have to grow up dreading it.

Part of me dreads him maturing and growing up since it means I’ll be losing my baby to some big, gangly teenager and eventually a real, actual adult. Other times, I wonder if his maturing can go any faster since he’s driving me nuts. Always, though, I’m proud of who he is and who he is becoming.