This summer has hit us hard with the realization that Jacob is a kid. Not a baby. Not a toddler, and now, not even a preschooler. He is a kid.
He runs off on the playground and doesn't need help going up climbing walls that use to give me a heart attack.
He skips and gallops, rides a bike with no training wheels, and figures out how to jump off things safely.
He develops his own games. He memorizes movies. He tells jokes and tries to make people laugh.
He compliments people out in public. He holds doors for others. He tells people their baby is "so cute."
He holds his friends' hands and leads them around. He takes pictures where he and his friend drape their arm around their shoulders. He hugs his friends and looks forward to seeing certain kids.
Jacob is such a joy to parent. He is smart and funny, and sweet in a way that makes my heart burst with pride.
He is able to find beauty in little things, and appreciate the big things as well. He makes me proud on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. Sure, some days are challenging with all of this new independence. Some days I scream at him to listen before he leaps (literally). But, overall, he is easy. And fantastic.
Just in time for him to take off and enter kindergarten and be on his own all day, every day. And this summer I realized just how ready he is for this new chapter in his life. Not just in the reading and writing.
He stands up for his friends. When one boy called someone stupid this summer, he told that boy, "You called XXX stupid, and I don't like that, so I'm going to go play with him."
Every single day he dishes out compliments to strangers. Today at the park he yelled after a kid he liked his bike. He tells girls he likes their shoes. He finds a reason to be kind to others and tell them what he likes about them.
He makes friends easily and joins in games with others. Sometimes it is hard to see him kind of rejected when some people have gone places with friends and Jacob just wants to join in. But, Jacob doesn't mind and wanders off to another kid and strikes up a game with them. He is an easy-going kid, and loyal to his friends.
He tries new foods and new opportunities with enthusiasm. He goes tubing, jumps off the diving board without a life jacket, climbs 75-foot towers without fear, and smiles all along the way.
Kindergarten will teach Jacob a lot. And, I'm sure he will teach everyone else a lot at the same time. How to be compassionate, considerate, and kind. How to embrace others fully without looking for their faults. How to make friends and include others. How to love life, find joy in the every day encounters, and give a good hearty laugh every single day.
He has a love for life that I don't think will ever stop shining. He teaches me something new every day about slowing down, listening, and focusing on what is most important.
I will never forget the look on his face when he earned his badge from the nature center when we went camping. He worked so hard to finish all of his wilderness tasks, fill out his notebook, and receive his patch in front of the store.
I will never forget his gap-tooth smile when he lost his first tooth this morning. Blood trickling down his bottom lip, and explaining to Daddy that he "wiggled it until the front came out, and then with a powerful push from my tongue, I pushed it out and lost my tooth!"
I will never forget his smile when he learned to ride his bike without training wheels back in the spring, and his happy dance when he got off his bike.
I will never forget taking him for his five-year-old shots and hearing him giggle as he got stuck four times. Giggle. And how he walked out into the waiting room afterwards and told two pretty teenage girls about the whole experience.
Jacob's eyes sparkle, and he has a lot to offer the world. His school career is just beginning, and I am confident in his character, values, and confidence. He is going to shine, and I hope I can continue to guide him in the right direction. Or, better yet, I hope he can keep guiding me in the right direction.
