I’m Smitten With My Baby

And I have been.  Since the day he was born.

I admit, there were some rocky points in our relationship.  No doubt. 

I never met a more stubborn, persistent, absolutely contradictory person in my entire life.  Seriously. 

He’d argue, just for the sake of arguing.  And to prove it, in one argument, I told him he’d probably tell me the sky was white if I said it was blue. 

He immediately left the argument at hand to pursue a new argument about just how white the sky actually is!  

His brother and I just sat and laughed.  What else could we do?

Oh, could he ever be frustrating. 

And exhausting. 

He used to talk from the minute he got up until the minute he went to bed.  Every day. 

He was so stinkin’ full of life and fight! 

Those years when he was little, life was a roller coaster. 

I would go from being so totally wrapped up in his little charming eyes, to so absolutely furious that I was outside, screaming on the front porch in pure anger, to so frustrated that I was sobbing out of desperation, and back to being so totally wrapped up in his charming little eyes again….all in one evening!

I’d vent, to anyone close to me, about how frustrating he could be.  They’d laugh and agree.  They’d seen it.  Well, some of it. 

He was a good kid, after all.  He knew when to put his public face on. 

But, after venting, I’d wind up talking about how incredibly adorable he is.  And how charming he could be.  And how, once he realized how cute he was, and learned how to turn the charm on, he’d be unstoppable.

It took him a long time to realize how cute he was. 

Which is funny, really, because he grew up listening to me talk about how cute he was day in and day out. 

I’m not prejudiced or anything, just because he is my own son.  Those who knew him would vouch for me –  he was absolutely adorable.  🙂 

And I guess most wouldn’t call him adorable now.  Handsome, maybe.  But to me, he will always be absolutely adorable.

Why, after all these years, am I still smitten with him?  Because he is still so stinkin’ full of life and fight! 

Thankfully he has learned how to channel his….er…..gifts….. 

A little more than in his younger years. 

His stubbornness….oh yeah, that’s still there.  It shows up in the form of persistence. 

He told me at the beginning of the football season that his goal was to play Varsity.  He is in the ninth grade.  You just don’t walk onto the field and expect to play varsity in ninth grade. 

At the end of the season, not only was he playing varsity, but he was starting varsity. 

Stubbornness?  Persistence? Call it what you want.  It works for him.

Contradictory?  Argumentative?  I’d like to call it persuasive.  

He knows what he wants and he is going to get it.  

He’ll start out by asking for what he wants.  If he’s shot down, he’ll dip into his other skills.  He will start with reason.  When that doesn’t work, he’ll argue.  Watch out there – he has years of practice. 

He’ll beat you. 

And if he’s discovering that he’s on the bottom, about to lose the argument, he’ll pull out the charm…. and you just lost.  Of course, the effect is better on females than males, but I’ve seen a grandpa or two fall victim as well!

And exhausting?  Absolutely!  I get exhausted just watching him now! 

He go go goes all day long.  It’s just one adventure to the next.  And at the end of the day, you will hear all about it.  He still talks a lot.  🙂  He has so much to say!  But it is so fun to listen to now. 

His thoughts and theories and stories are hilarious!  He has an amazing sense of humor.  And he is still so full of life. 

Oh, if I had just an ounce of his energy!  His eyes twinkle – literally – when he is excited (and cloud over when he is angry!).

I love to pick him out on the basketball court.

That tall, dark handsome one?  Yup, he’s mine. 

The one dodging players and doing summersaults?  Yep, I claim him. 

That one that is so crazy passionate and energetic about everything he does?  Yep, that’s my boy. 

That one that absolutely cracks me up?  Oh yeah.  I’ll claim him!!