
My youngest son just turned SIX this past month and I am very sentimental about it this year.
SIX.
How is it that he is already six years old?!
One of my favorite traditions with my boys is to write to them on their birthday in a 5×7-ish spiral notebook that I got at the local Target or Walmart. It is simple and not fancy in the least.
My mom was the one who started this, and I have kept up with this tradition. When she was pregnant with me, she wrote to me in the same type of spiral notebook and would update me on all of her cravings, what the weather was like, how they were preparing for the big day, the showers, etc.
It is her handwriting. She passed away when I was 13, and this journal is one of the most valuable items that I have because it is her talking to me. It is her.
So when I learned I was pregnant with our first son, I replicated what she did and bought the exact same spiral notebook, and started writing as much as I could to our son. When the big day finally arrived, I wrote all about his birth story and then decided I wasn’t going to stop there. I continued writing to him on his month birthdays and then his first birthday.
But I couldn’t stop.
I wanted to keep it up and continue writing to him on his birthday every year, and so that is what I do. It is not always on the actual birthday, and I have forgotten to write once (and I am sure I will forget another time, too) but I do my best to remember to write to him on his birthday.
When we found out we were pregnant with our second child I bought another spiral notebook just for him. And the tradition continues.
Last night I wrote to our youngest all about the past year, what he is interested in, where we traveleled, how much he has grown, and as much as I could remember about the past year without getting too wordy.
As I was wrapping up my letter to him, I got a bit teary-eyed.
My youngest son is six.
My oldest is almost ten.
We are out of the toddler phase and have BIG kids now that will slowly morph into teenagers and eventually young men.
And I am proud.
And sad.
I am proud of the little men these two boys are becoming. They are learning more about God every day and love Him so much. I am so blessed to see these two little guys grow up and have a front row seat to their discoveries, learnings, challenges, fun activities, and everything in between.
They are pretty awesome.
And so the journal continues.
Another birthday in the books.
Another journal entry was written.
And I pray for so many more.
