One year. There were definitely days last September that made me wonder if Larkin and I would make it to a year. He would get so frustrated that I couldn’t read his mind and know exactly what he wanted. Now I wish I could play dumb and not understand that he wants to listen to “Five little Monkeys” over and over again in the car!
One year. The saying, “We made it, but we may not look like much” comes to mind. We survived our first year. And if Larkin learns as much next year, as he did in this year, I am going to have to study to keep up!
I have found things over the past few years that I have saved to use for our first year together. Some of them I have written, some are stolen from other places.
I found a beautiful piece of artwork the other day with this quote, “Being a family means you are a part of something very wonderful. It means you will love and be loved for the rest of your life. No matter what.” Now, the “no matter what” part is questionable. I will question my love for Larkin if he makes me attend football games where I am forced to wear any shade of orange, purple, or blue. But do not think that this means I will be satisfied with a college career at Arkansas, Mississippi State, or Texas A&M. This just means that I look better in crimson than orange ;) And if he keeps eating and gaining weight at the current rate, he will get invitations to attend all of these schools.
One Tree Hill has always been one of my favorite shows. You can judge me. I don’t care. When Peyton was pregnant, I cried during every episode of that nine-month time period. She wrote a poem for her future child, and I copied it into my quote journal. I added a few things to it to make it apply to Larkin. (So some of this is mine and some of this comes from the writers of the CW).
This would have been more appropriate for my blog one year ago. But I was WAY too busy moving clothes and diapers around in suitcases to make sure nothing was over the 50 pound weight limit. I did not have time to blog. And if it weren’t for Dora, I wouldn’t have time to write this blog one year (and a few days) later. Okay, so here it is. Prepare for tears….Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Today is the day my life begins.
Today I become a mother.
Today I become accountable to someone other than myself. (Yep, I’m already crying.)
Today I become accountable to you, my child-to all the possibilities your new life has to offer.
I will be ready for anything, for everything. To take on life. To take on love and heartache and bad dreams and monsters under the bed.
Today I become a citizen of the world.
Today I become a grown-up.
Today I become accountable to the world
To the future
Staring today, my job is to be there for you.
To show up, wide-eyed and ready for anything, for everything
To take on life
To take on love
To take on questions
To take on fears
To take on the responsibility and the possibility of motherhood.
Today my life begins and I cannot wait. (Insert more tears).
Every time I say or type the word ‘year,’ I have to take a minute and just breathe. I am sure that each year will get easier-or maybe not-but I never want to lose the breathless feeling that I have when I think of our time together.
Larkin uses a hot pink dumbbell as a microphone to sing everything from “Jesus loves Me” to Justin Beiber. Larkin is also a “mini-teenager.” When I wake him in the mornings, he pulls the covers over his head or puts his pillow over his face. If he does this at age 3, what’s going to happen when he is 16?!?!
A few of your best accomplishments:
o Potty training
o Knowing the answers to the questions on Dora and Diego
o Using your fingers to count to ten
o Telling me about what you did all day
o Knowing the difference in a tractor, a dump truck, a crane, and a BIG truck
o Knowing colors, thanks to popsicles
o Memorizing almost every word to Cars
o Using your pointer finger when you tell me you will “Be right back”
o Speaking in third person
o Always flushing the toilet-even if it doesn’t need flushing
o Flushing the toilet-even if it is an automatic one
o Saying, “back me” when you want something back (usually something Gus took)
o Yelling from another room, “Where are you?” when a year ago you wouldn’t
leave my side
o Always patting the bed for me for me to lay down with you
o And most importantly: Living your life with wreckless abandon
(something your mom needs to learn)
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