Dear Holden,
I'm afraid that whenever we look back to the time around your 5th birthday, we won't be thinking about the things we should: The glow of birthday candles in your eyes, how you tore with excited anticipation into the wrapping paper or how you laughed and smiled with the sheer joy of fun at your birthday party. Unfortunately, Mom and Dad have been a bit pre-occupied with avoiding homelessness lately to take too much notice of things not listed on the MLS. Proof of that is that it is now four days after your 5th birthday, and we're finally getting down to the business of blogging about it. If things seemed at all stressful and weird to you, I will always apologize for that.
Although we'll always remember this time as being filled with paperwork and house hunting, we'll always think back on your entire 5th year with the perspective it deserves. For it was a year full of activity, adventure, excitement, learning, fun and love ... because of you.
All our first impressions of you were held true as you made the transition from toddler to pre-schooler. We knew you were a sensitive child, but the size of your heart was really shown in the last year as we watched you interact with us, your friends and family and, especially, your brother. We're not sure what happened here, but Riley is a hitter. And a biter. And a kicker. He's aggressive and tantrum-prone. Yet through it all, you have never, EVER, maliciously struck back at him with any level of violence or hatred. It says a lot about your kind character that the bundle of brother hasn't pushed you over the edge. For that, we will always be grateful to you.
Besides that, though, we can see how much you genuinely care about others and empathize with them. You are a sharer, in words, deeds and things. You want everyone to be included. You show your love with kisses and hugs, especially butterfly and eskimo kisses every night. Your infectious laugh, warmth and smile shows everyone with whom you interact that you do really care. At school, your teachers call you their "helper" because they know they can trust you with small tasks, and are pleased with your eagerness to please them.
We've watched you hone your athletic and academic skills with awe in the past year. It just seems like months ago that a Crayon in your hand would yield only scribbles. Now, you draw pictures of your family, Star Wars space ships and the sky, sun, grass and trees. You enjoy coloring in pictures and write letters and numbers with impressive clarity. Math comes easy to you, and you don't even realize all the addition and subtraction you are constantly doing with the clock, or carrots or even your fingers. Outside, your soccer skills are improving, you've learned to ride a two-wheel bike without training wheels, you're fast on a Razor scooter and can hit a ball with a bat.
Our wish for you is that life stays just this simple and easy. Of course growing up has plenty of turbulence, and with age comes stress, worry, self-doubt and, often, a pessimistic view of oneself. We hope that your confidence in yourself only continues to blossom as you tackle life's many, many challenges.
This next year will be a landmark one in your life. We'll be living in a new home (we hope) and you will begin kindergarden. It's a time of wonder, learning and making new friends that we hope you will always cherish. We hope that, together, we've laid the groundwork for a full, fun and successful life for you. You have a lot of control in how your life goes, and we have every confidence in you that you're on your way to making it a good one. We are so proud of you. We love you.
Hugs and butterfly kisses,
Mom and Dad
