Letters to My Son | This is 6…

Oh sweet, wild, whirling dervish Lincoln…

Here we are, It’s been a while since I’ve written you a letter, let alone a birthday letter and this one is so much more than that!  You’ve been 6 for a whole month plus some now and we are in the beginnings of such a BIG adventure!  This will be a HUGE year.  I can feel it in my bones.  I can feel it in my soul.

This year we’ve already started our adventure with big kid school!  You’re a kindergardener now and you’ve been waiting on this for an entire year.  You are incredibly independent and while the other kids walk slowly and a little trepidatiously;  you sprint full force into that unknown with a huge smile and a “mom up top!”

Right now, you are more fierce than ever.  You are bold in your opinions and stronger with you will!  You know exactly who you are and what your opinions, your thoughts and which direction you WILL go in!  You do not waiver and you will not accept no for an answer.  Sometimes that causes some friction, I’m not afraid to admit that.  You see I am a people pleaser.  I like peace and calm and I do not like confrontation.  You, however are not afraid to stick to your guns no matter what happens.  You like control and you do not back down.  These are strong character traits that will have you breaking down barriers later in life.  These are all qualities that even now make you a leader:  a leader that sometimes gets in quite the trouble!

Here is the thing about life though something that I will always be eternally grateful for:  Each day it starts new:  it starts fresh with a brand new chance!  One that you always embrace with the most positive attitude!  You always wake up bright and happy with the biggest grin on your face!  You wake up bright and early (5:45 to be exact) ready to take on the day with more energy than anyone on this earth I’m willing to bet!  You are loud, you are bold and you are so bright my little one!

So now you are 6 and more daring than ever!  You’ve entered this place again where there is absolutely no fear!  You’ve taken on all the thrill rides that your big little 44 inches of you are tall enough to ride including Everest and Tower or Terror!  On the first day of school you pulled out your very first tooth and then came home that Friday with a second lose tooth!  You don’t do anything at a slow speed once you start!

You’ve been surfing, body boarding, learned to body surf and love to tackle that huge Tsunami wave at Typhoon lagoon often landing on adults as you get tossed into the air!  Bruises, scrapes, strawberries, gashes we’ve got them all!

You’ve broken boards with your hammer fist (not one but two stacked on top of one another) and conquered the soccer field with your aggressiveness and fierce mohawk!  I lost my voice so many times from yelling so loudly at your games and will always be right there, camera in hand, embarrassingly loud voice, right on the side lines for as long as you choose to play (no matter what it is!)

And every single time you do these things:  take the field, nervously and boldly stand in line, step up to the boards with a new breaking technique, every time you prove to yourself time and time again how incredible you are:  I will ALWAYS be here to say to you:  “You, my sweet boy, are AMAZING and I am always so proud of you!”

There is something about you Linc.  Your heart is incredibly wild, but you see it’s just also so big and your love for making others feel loved is even bigger!  You are crazy, but whats amazing is that you are also so incredibly empathetic!  You have always had these BIG EMOTIONS and although right now, sometimes those big emotions can be a little scary, you also have this way of using your emotions to connect in a way that is really quite beautiful!  Sometimes it’s in the way you use that tiny hand of yours and place it on my cheek sometimes in a random moment.  Sometimes it’s in the way you can just talk to just about anyone and you say something that is truly profound.  You have a way of connecting with people, anyone just about anywhere and you are always ready to help.

This worries me too because sometimes hearts like yours and mine can be sensitive and broken easily.  Although, each time I worry about you and that big heart of yours, you tell me “Mom, I’m always OK” and you know what, you usually are because one thing you are is silly and you have a way of letting things go and turning the not so happy bits of life into something silly or goofy or laugh out loud funny, and that is what you love most is making people laugh!  I’m sure you will be the class clown!

So here is to 6… a full year of new adventures!  A year where I am beginning to see that maybe it’s time I loosen my grip a bit (just a little maybe).  You are too independent for me to hold on anyway.  Here’s to a year of laughter and craziness!  A year of new beginnings and daring new heights!

There are so many things that I want for you but could never say it as beautifully as Jason Mraz does: