My son turns 5 on Saturday, and try as I may, I can’t seem to find the words to write about him. Nothing seems to capture my emotion in the last few days about his impending birthday, my wistfulness for time past, his growth from a baby to a toddler to a young boy. It only goes up from here. There is no way to stop time.
Here’s a little slideshow of the birthday boy.
Newborn
One
Two
Three
Four
Just about five
For Ben
Five is big, important,
a large round number, like a flower
sprouting from the palm of your hand.
A surfer, I thought,
the first time I saw you.
An athlete. A nurse in a
face mask held you up
for the camera and you
screamed, your long body thin
and rippled-pink.
You were looking for me.
And then they wrapped you up,
handed you over.
I’ve held you ever since.
Happy Birthday.
(Thursday’s Momalom 5 for 5 topic is “Age.”)
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
My son is turning One next month and I’m in total denial. Thanks for sharing. I’m glad that I’m not the only mom who feels this way. PS. Your son is a cutie!
This is beautiful. Thank you for sharing. I love looking at the pictures.
Happy birthday! 5 IS BIG!
I’m amazed at how strong my dreams for my kids are, the things I hope they’ll accomplish. We look at them and we do see surfers, athletes, dancers, surgeons, librarians, scientists.
But they’re just them, and we just hold on.
He is gorgeous! I drove home from the store in tears today because I’m bummed Simon is closing in on the one-month mark. As much as I love celebrating kids’ birthdays, it’s definitely a more bittersweet process once you’re a parent. Happy birthday to your sweet boy! Hope you all have fun celebrating.
He’s still 4. For a few more hours. :) Enjoy.
How lovely! My baby just turned eight… 8!!!
Funny, I posted something fairly similar for her birthday, though my DH isn’t comfortable with anything beyond baby pictures being posted on my blog. Too bad, I would love to show off who she is today.
Happy Birthday to Ben!
Very sweet! Happy Birthday Ben!
Happy Belated Birthday to your little (not so little) boy!
Happy belated birthday to your little guy! I had a *very* hard time when mine turned 5…somehow it was the hardest age for me. I think it marked a major shift in my life with him going to school and starting to form his own life beyond me. I remember feeling lost identity-wise…so maybe I can understand your loss for words.