Dear Hunter,
Today you are six years old.
Six years of me having a little boy and it has definitely been an
adventure. Let me tell you a little bit
about six-year-old you.
You continue to love anything with wheels. Tractors, construction equipment, cars,
trucks, bicycles, scooters. You love to
make fun tracks for your cars or to just zoom them up and down the kitchen
floor. I’m hoping you grow out of your
love of “crashing things” before you start driving. Legos are another love of yours. Mostly I think that is because that is what
your sisters love to play. You do make
awesome creations (houses, vehicles, sheds) out of any kind of blocks.
One of your most favorite activities is to sit down and
draw. Almost every night when Reagan and
Maddie are busy with homework, you are sitting at the coffee table drawing up a
storm. For a long time, all you would
draw was tractors. But lately you draw
all kinds of awesome things – pickup trucks hauling Christmas trees, every
animal we can think of, ice cream stands.
What amazes me is not that you love to draw but how good you are at
it. You just have a knack for it. My favorite thing is that almost all of your
drawings are given away – gifts for special people in your life.
Kindergarten was your new thing this year. For the most part you love going and enjoy
your days at school. But there are times
when you struggle with a little bit of worry and are less excited about
going. I love seeing you at lunch
time. I love the way you smile at me and
wave. I love watching you talk and be
silly with your friends in the cafeteria.
You are doing so well with your reading and learning. I am proud of you for how hard you work to
learn, but I am even more proud of the way you are trying to overcome those
worries that plague you from time to time.
You love soccer and basketball and baseball. You love to go swimming. You love to be at the farm. You hate haircuts but you like “cool hair”. You love cheeseburgers. You love the color red. You hate to be in front of large crowds. You are totally grossed out if someone burps
in your presence. You manage to get
dirtier in one day of school than your sisters did their entire kindergarten
year. You sit in my lap while we read
devotions after supper. You are unique
and fun and special.
Precious little can compare to the love you have for your
big sisters. You love to be with them
and are determined to keep up with them.
Whatever they are doing, you are right there in the mix. You categorically refuse to sit with anyone
but Reagan or Maddie on the bus. You
hold their hand as they walk you to your classroom. You snuggle with them on the couch on movie
nights. They read to you, crawl around
on their knees to play cars with you, and they would do just about anything
they could to help you. I know you are
too young to realize the depth of love they show to you each day. It is not always perfect. Trust me, the three of you fight like
siblings on occasion. But it is a joy to
my heart the way you love each other so well.
You are growing and becoming stronger every day, but you are
still very tender hearted. Words matter
so much to you. You hate to be teased or
talked down to. If someone is angry at
you that affects you deeply. And then
sometimes you surprise me with your ability to shrug something off. I pray that you will also value just as
highly the words that you speak to others.
You are growing and changing so much these days. I blinked and all of a sudden you could
read. There are no more booster seats or
plastic plates at my table. You outgrew
a bicycle. We bought a desk for your
room. You have burned through so many
pairs of shoes that I’m almost in disbelief.
Sometimes I feel like I am just praying you from one big thing to the
next. But when I look back I can’t even
remember what all my “worries” were. Each
stage has been fun with you – some with big challenges but all of them held so
much good.
You going to school has been a big step for both of us. I will admit I blinked back tears on your
first day of kindergarten. We both put
on our brave faces and it wasn’t until I saw your tiny hand waving back at me
through the window that I got choked up.
Every day with you a gift to me.
I know these days where you sit in my lap, hold my hand and
want to snuggle with me are probably numbered.
I’m tempted to be sad about that.
But since I have enjoyed every single stage of life with you, I guess I
am more tempted to be excited about the future with you. When all of your six years have been so good,
I’m looking forward to another 6 (and many more).
One last thing, my favorite thing that you do is how you
pray each night after our devotions at supper.
Your prayer is always the same and even now I wonder if you will pray
similarly when you grow up to be the Daddy at the supper table. And every time you thank Jesus for dying on
the cross. Oh Hunter…yes. Yes, He died for you. It isn’t hard for me to imagine that He loves
you so and I am so hopeful that you will never ever once forget that prayer.
Hey Hot Rod, I love you so very much too.
Happy Birthday!
Love,
Mom
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