When your boy grows fast
And your boy grows strong
The time you’re allowed with him isn’t that long
When your boy grows keen
And your boy grows smart
You must fight to keep focus right on the heart
When your boy grows long
And your boy grows lean
You savor the downtime, the sparse in between
When your boy grows restless
And your boy grows mad
(It’s better to pass him off to his dad)
When your boy grows sweet
And your boy grows slow
Whisper a secret for just you two to know
When your boy grows quiet
And your boy grows still
It’s wise to let him get to know his own will
When your boy grows up
And your boy grows tall
And he’s almost too big to be your boy at all
Just hang onto each second,
each hand hold,
each kiss
And remember that while he is yours, you also are his.
And he’s watching you grow
And he’s watching you change
And he’s wondering why he is feeling so strange.
And one day when you both think the growing is through,
You will both understand there’s more growing to do.
For once we stop growing, once the light has gone out,
we want to lean deep in the dark void and shout
But the shouting’s no use
So it’s best just to stay calm
And let the ones close to you grow and move on
And admire them near
And admire them far
And never stray too much from where their hearts are
And collect every soft feather-moment you can
Because soon your sweet boy will have grown into a man.
Today, while Jared worked on putting our blogs online, I took Rudyard down to the river where we spent the greater part of the day lounging, swimming, skipping stones, and having mini adventures! We saw a snake, a toad, and some dog shaped creature that was drinking at the river as we came down! We found a spot where the rocks were big and the current was fast and we (cautiously) walked across it and back. We talked about being in nature and enjoying it, but respecting its power, and its ability to change. The first time we crossed, the current was mild. We slipped a few times and had to use hands and feet to climb, but it was doable. The second time, the current had really picked up, making some of the spots really tricky. Since the “waterfall” isn’t more than a two-foot drop, I wasn’t concerned about that. I WAS concerned with my son, who is still learning how to swim and also learning about his own body mechanics, and the possibility of him slipping, hitting his head, and me not being able to help him. We had to work as a team and listen to each other. Sometimes he would see better foothold spots than me, and I had to trust him. It was such a cool thing to do together. When dad finally joined us, the first thing Rudy wanted to do with him was “the hard part”! I love that he was never afraid, but understood the danger involved and always stayed with one of us.
We all swam across the river to touch an old tire that was lodged into the shore on the opposite side. The current was so strong, it made it fairly difficult for us to do. I went first, then Jared. Rudy so badly wanted to, but was in no way able with his swimming capabilities, so he held onto my neck and we went for it! It took a bit, but he was so stoked when he slammed his hand onto the tire.
The sun was super hot. The water was cool. The river stones were dry, but we dug up some river clay and decorated rocks with faces and bathing suits to look like us. Around 4:00, we realized how hungry we were and headed up to the house to shower and go see grandma and grandpa for a nice summer dinner of chicken salad and watermelon.
The day will remain one of my favorites.
Thank you for sharing your fabulous “vaca tour”. Shining all the way.