It is official, I have a four year old. January 22 is a big day here at the Beekman house, it is our Michael day. Isn't it funny how one date on a calendar can suddenly be such a memorable day. I have had many January 22nd's in my life, but in 2005, January 22 became a day that I will celebrate all my days. It is the day that God gave me a remarkable gift, Michael David.
It was definitely one of my best days, a day where the unknown became known and yet there were so many questions in my head. Questions that I had never before thought to ask, and suddenly in a moment everything changed and the many questions that were answered multiplied into infinitely more questions. (wow, how many times can a person say questions in one sentence - whew?)
This has been a big year for Michael growing from three to four has been a year that we will never forget. We added a sister Adah, who he adores. I couldn't have dreamed that he would be better with her than he is. It is so fun to watch them together. I know that times will come where these blissful days will be a thing of the past as they will grow up to be normal kids, but right now we are loving the love. We added Grandpa Eddie, when my mom remarried. Every boy needs Grandpa and although Dad will never be replaced, it is great to have Eddie in Michael and the rest of our lives. We also lost Shaelynn, our sweet girl (that is what Michael always said) to an unthinkable and brave battle with cancer. The loss of his cousin is still constantly in his mind and on his heart. Earlier this week, he asked me exactly when we could visit Shaelynn in heaven. I wish I had better answers for those questions, but I don't. Heaven just isn't a place that we can visit, but those that love Jesus will get to go there to stay when He says that they are done here on Earth. So then he asked, in all his little boy innocence, so if I were a super-hero, could I fly to heaven, because super-hero's can do all kinds of super stuff that normal people can't do. I told him that I wished he could, but it just didn't work that way, and are you a super hero. No, Mom, I'm Michael. Oh, good to know. We will never stop wishing that we could see her and Michael will forever have "Team Shaelynn" etched into his heart and soul.
The gift of motherhood is watching who your children grow into. Michael seems to be growing into a sweet, but busy and normal, boy. I laugh daily at what he says and does. In fact one of my greatest fears in having a second child was that I wouldn't like anyone else as much as I do Michael. (Thankfully Adah seems to be growing into a completely likable girl herself - so Mom was right, that is nothing to worry about.) He has a will of his own, but isn't unable to take correction and instruction - some days are better than others. He remembers everything - good and bad. He loves to be read to and look at books, he has become great at building his own stories while he plays. It is so fun to watch and listen to him play, in fact I have caught him more than once in Adah's crib reading to her. She loves it and there is nothing better than hearing your older child tell your younger child the Christmas story or reading the Dr. Seuss book, Oh the Places You'll Go. Every time I think of how fast he is growing I think of a line from one of the books that was a favorite of my to teach my 8th graders, "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. Before any child moved from their childhood schooling to their adult lives the leader of the community said "Thank you for your childhood."
That is exactly how I feel. Michael, thank you for your childhood.
God thank you for Michael.
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