Ben is 10!!

Dear Ben,

Today is has been a whole decade since we first met you. TEN YEARS! If I sit quietly and think (not that I ever get that chance around here!)  I can bring back every feeling and thought from that morning your daddy and I walked into the hospital and waited for you to be born.  Nervous, excited....realizing there was NO turning back.

We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into with this parenting thing. And like everyone always says, it has turned out to be way harder than we ever imagined, but also the most amazing and awesome thing ever ... and you started it all.  This is probably a good thing because you broke us in well. You still hold the honor being our most challenging baby and toddler, yes EVEN compared to Jonathan. (you love hearing those stories too...) 

You have come into your own this year and seem to really have a good grasp on who you are. Fourth grade has been your best year yet as far as friends and school. You are happier and less afraid to try new things than you used to be. Swimming and basketball have helped to give you so much confidence. You still don't much like being the "short kid", but you seem to have slowly begun to embrace it as part of your identity.

You want to dress and wear your hair a certain way now, and you care how you look, which is cute. You announced at your last haircut that you didn't want them to cut it too short because you'd like to start wearing it longer now. Your clothes are an assortment of Under Amour and UA knockoffs from Target and Old Navy in all sorts of blinding fluorescents. Perhaps my favorite touch are the brightly colored socks pulled up to your kneecaps, a look you have picked up from your friends. It's cute though... and you'll get some good laughs out of the photos in about 20 years. ;)

You are an amazing big brother to Simon and Jonathan, though they don't always make your life easy. I admire that so much about you. You have an amazing knack for patiently and lovingly dealing with and communicating with all children younger than you. Every little kid we meet seems to worship the ground you walk on.  It makes me smile.

Perhaps my most favorite thing about you is that you are kind. I've never actually seen you be mean to anyone (though I'm sure there are things I haven't seen) and you seem to accept everyone the way they are.  You are deeply hurt when other kids are mean and still don't seem to understand why they are like that (neither do I, really). I'm glad you at least understand now when it is happening, because you didn't used to. Now you know who the mean kids are and are learning to defend yourself with words or just walk away. I hate that you had to even learn that lesson; but it's a good one, nonetheless.

I ask you what you want to be when you grow up and it ranges from engineer to writer. And I have a feeling whatever you do will somehow encompass things from both worlds. You love facts and breaking things down, just like your daddy. You also love to fill notebooks with words, just like mommy. You write all kinds of stories and create entire worlds.... and yet, they are full of facts and list and statistics. Whatever you do, it will certainly be interesting to watch it as it comes to light. 

You are becoming such a neat little person. Sometimes I feel like you are SUCH an old soul and know way more than I do... that you just quietly tolerate listening to my thoughts on things. LOL.  I think this might be my most favorite age so far. I love talking to you and hearing what goes on inside that brain of yours. 

I am so excited to see what your future holds and I love you so very much! Happy 10th birthday, Thomas Benjamin!

Love,

Mommy