HAPPY BIRTHDAY, COOPER! Can you believe that you are TEN??? (yes, this is getting posted late... I wanted to include pictures, but now I am not even managing that!)
Well you are, and it appears that there is nothing I can do about it but enjoy every freaking second of it as it races by, so let’s just dive in, shall we?
You are in fourth grade now. You still love to read (we just finished Harry Potter, Book 6) and draw (a Cooper original cartoon hangs in my office), but this past year you have developed a new love – Basketball! And I am THRILLED. For many years, I had tried to persuade you to play basketball – it is the one sport I “played” (quotes used to indicate my career ending in middle school) and therefore the sport I understand best. You had put it off for years, telling me “no thanks” or “I think I would rather try ____” and being somewhat self-aware, I managed to respect your wishes and not force it on you. And, oh am I so glad I did, because now I am being rewarded for all that self-restraint, because you are SO enthusiastic and pretty much obsessed, and it is great! Your enthusiasm started after attending a summer camp where, sweet boy, you did not even get a “most improved” ribbon, despite your best efforts and great attitude. You were thrown into a huge camp with tons of kids, many quite a bit older and most quite a bit more experienced in the sport, and yet you fell in love. You asked to take more lessons and have maintained the enthusiasm ever since. Most afternoons you will go outside and shoot between homework and dinner, and I am truly amazed at how much you have improved in such a short time. You have found a love, and it is awesome.
In addition to basketball, you have also fallen in love with football (watching, not playing – other than throwing the football around in our backyard, thank goodness), and for this I say IT’S ABOUT TIME! I am not sure if it was just you being a year older or if it was the payoff of your dad investing hours into surreptitiously bringing up football trivia to try to pull you in, but either way, we had a regular Game Day watch buddy on Sundays. You honestly cannot get enough “football talk” and you jump at the chance to run errands with your Dad now, because it gives you uninterrupted time to talk Chicago Bears. I know Steve can hardly wait for a new season to start, because I think you guys have pretty well rehashed every moment of the 2018-2019 season. There is little in this world more entertaining than listening to you and your Grandpa Cox “smack talk” over who is better – Bears vs. Cowboys, and I continuously wonder how did this happen, because this is not what your dad and I agreed to in our (fictional) prenup, wherein we agreed I could indoctrinate the kids on which NFL team to root for, because he would get MLB, NHL and NBA. It breaks my heart a little bit, but at least you agree the Cowboys are in your top 5 for favorite teams.
You continue to be the best big brother – better than I could have dreamed of. I spent a day home with Cal when our nanny needed the day off and was instantly reminded of how awesome you are because good grief does that kid expect someone to play with him 100% of the time. When you and your sister are home, you carry a big load of that, and for that we are eternally grateful. And even though you guys have your moments, you continue to be your sister’s best friend. When you have friends over, you include her, and when it is just the two of you, you will continue to play games she likes, even though you are starting to grow out of them. At your birthday party this weekend we were making goody bags, and you made sure that your sister got the blue version of each treat – making a special bag just for her, because you know blue is her favorite color. I love how thoughtful you are.
You get to stay up later now – a good hour to hour and a half after Daphne goes to bed. Sometimes this about kills me, because DUDE, I am TIRED, and yet, despite that fact, try as I might, I struggle to be able to fall asleep without at least 30 minutes of “down” time after getting all you little (or not so littles anymore) in bed, so my bed time keeps getting later. But, as evidenced by the writing of this post, you are older now. We still read every night, but we have started the tradition of watching an episode or two of the Office together, which is hilarious and super fun (though a bit “racier” than I remembered at moments).
You have been turning that corner from little boy to young man for a while now and I notice it most in the moments that I get to spend with just you. For better or worse, those moments can be few and far between at times, because we have jobs and school and hobbies and siblings. So this year, for your birthday, your dad and I each took a day off of work and surprised you by pulling you our of school for the day. The nanny stayed home with Cal, Daphne went to school as usual, and it was just you, me and your dad. And it was awesome. Our day looked like this:
- Smoothies for breakfast as a family before "school" - maintaining the ruse, for Daphne's sake, that your birthday was like any other old week day.
- You went to class, got to hear your name on the announcements, and barely settle in before being called to the office to leave for a "dentist" appointment. I had warned this would happen, so you were not even suspicious, and walked out of school telling me about how the announcements said you were in Pre-K when announcing your birthday, and laughing about the mix up. You didn't even wonder why Dad was in the car, until I asked "have you figured it out yet?" Then we saw the wheels turn, and you began to wonder what was up. Once you learned the truth - you were PUMPED!
- We went to WalMart so that you could spend your birthday money, and your brain about exploded when you realized that you could but the Harry Potter LEGO set AND the DS game, AND some mechanical pencils.
- Then we went to WalMart and you got some new sneakers!
- Then we went to the candy store in the mall (and BOTH filled bags)
- Then we went to your choice for lunch - CHEESECAKE FACTORY! We ordered waaaaay too much.... then ordered a piece of cheesecake to make it more amazing.
- Then BOWLING!!!!
Finally we scooped up your sister so we could go home for presents, then a brief hiatus from birthday for basketball, before home for cake.
You told me it was the Best. Day. EVER!!!!
Me too, buddy. Me too.
We love you more than you will ever know and could not be more proud of you. May this year be the best year ever.
Love,
Mom
Like a waterfall in slow motion, Part One
3 years ago
