"Changes I didn't expect in 2012" is the Blog Dare writing prompt for today, Friday, January 4th.
When I first became a mom, changes were de rigeur. My baby changed every single day. One day his eyes were crossed, the next he could focus on us and grin. One day he was immobile, the next he was rolling. One day he was toothless, the next pink gums were replaced with jagged, pearly white teeth. The only constant was change!
But as they left babyhood and became toddlers, visible change slowed. And the pace slowed even more when they entered school. Dramatic changes were replaced by subtle ones, almost unnoticeable unless you took the time to look. There were definite Eureka! moments when I realized that they were not the same as the day before.
One night I was tucking Dylan in and crawled under his covers as I always did to snuggle up, smell his clean hair, and read a book with him. He looked at me and said, "Mom, you know that I can read, right?!" I was stunned into silence. I know that you can read, I stammered. "But you can bring your own book in here and read next to me," he offered. "...if you want to." Okay.
Also in 2012, my 10-year-old started wearing shoes bigger than mine, exhibiting the clear signs of pre-pubescence, and developing an understated independence that brought tears to my eyes. Gone are the tantrums he used to throw when his vocabulary didn't match his thoughts. He's not defiant; he's just firm, focused, articulate and steadfast.
I suppose I should have expected these changes. But somehow they still caught me off-guard.
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