Dear Daniel,
I still can't believe it has been 9 years since you were born. I'm writing this at 9:00 pm, which means you were a little over 3 hours old at this same time. We were in for a long night, but I couldn't stop staring at you. We stayed up late and I introduced you to Friends.
This past year has been a crazy one, but we've made it through.
You finished 2nd grade...in March. You can one day tell your own kids that you lived through a global pandemic and foraged for toilet paper.
While it wasn't ideal, you did pretty well through the beginning of Covid. You and James basically stayed in "lock down" for 2 months. I would go out and go shopping and come back with tales of masks, and arrows telling us what way we were allowed to shop. We played outside as much as possible. Thankfully everything hit right when Spring was arriving. You guys didn't go to any stores, there was no school and church was live streamed on Facebook. You did play with the boys next door because I wasn't too worried. Playgrounds were closed until June. It was no fun.
By the end of May we made a run for the border. The Iowa border. Restrictions were less, and I was tired of being stuck at home. We spent a week there, and enjoyed seeing people!
It's been a year of changes. You've been very accepting. I will never forget your tears when we told you that I was moving to another house. But after allowing you to ask questions and reassuring you that you would see both your dad and I, you were so calm. In fact, you never seemed fazed by the entire transition after that.
We did get to return to church this summer. You were going to be baptized on Easter Sunday, but since everything was closed down, we waited until August. It was definitely a proud mom moment.
This year school didn't get to start. You were starting 3rd grade at Memorial and so excited! 2 weeks ago you started the hybrid plan. You got to go to school for 2 days before they went back to all online learning. You were pretty bummed out. So was I.
You are rocking 3rd grade though. I am so proud of how smart you are academically. You have rarely complained about your school work. You make sure you attend all of your Google meets. You've come to preschool with me, and still done all of your work while I'm teaching. You take the initiative to get things done, and you always try your hardest.
Your greatest strengths are and have always been math and science. You are also a really good artist, even though you're not always into it. You have finally found a love for reading and it makes my heart happy to see you engrossed in a good book. You don't like writing, which is weird to me, because my strong points in school were always reading and writing. I was (and still am) terrible at math and science.
You love to create. You put together Lego sets with ease. You build things with magnets. You work meticulously at anything you do.
You keep getting taller and taller. I know one day you're going to pass me up, and that just seems wrong.
You're also maturing...as much as a 9 year old boy can. Of course, you still drive me insane by constantly picking fights with James, copping an attitude with me, or just making a choice that you know is bad, but doing it anyway. But, you've also become more helpful...when you want to be. You carry the groceries in for me, you volunteered to wash the dishes one night, and you carry the dirty laundry basket down the stairs for me so I don't have to lift it.
I know you're in the "life isn't fair" stage when you feel like I make you do everything (which I don't!). Or that you don't get everything you want like a cell phone or an iPad even though "everyone else has one" (which they don't!)
I'm hoping as you grow older, you'll see that I did my best. I have MANY imperfect moments as a mom and as a person in general. I know my parents did their best with me even though I thought my life wasn't fair when I had to do things or didn't get things as well. It makes you appreciate what you do have all the more. And life isn't about material things anyway. Sure, it's nice to have fun things, but make sure to always be thankful for what you have and to give to others whenever you can. There's always someone who needs something more than you do.
I love you so much. You'll always be my Bubby no matter how old you get. I hope 9 turns out to be an amazing year for you.
Love always,
Mom
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