“Happy Birthday to my wonderful, amazing, smart, silly, sweet EIGHT YEAR OLD son!”
That’s the status update on my husband’s Facebook page today. I’m getting all teary right now as I think about the beautiful connection between Bluejay and The Buddha. I melt every time I see the sweetly proud look on Daddy’s face when The Buddah does something especially wonderful, amazing, smart, silly or sweet. “I love him,” Bluejay always says with a goofy grin.
Their bond has been sealed since Day 1, eight years ago on October 16. Tears of amazement greeted The Buddha’s birth, and Daddy’s love and commitment has never wavered. He handled all those icky, sticky diapers in the hospital while I lay in bed recovering and he took care of all the NICU logistics while I was off pumping. When The Buddha couldn’t latch, Daddy shared the bottle feedings made particularly challenging by our baby’s unusually small jaw and a tongue practically locked to the roof of his mouth.
As The Buddha grew older, Daddy became the beloved “bathman,” a title and job he holds to this day. And I remember well the stage, around 2 years old, when Daddy couldn’t leave the room without The Buddha wailing. No matter that I was sitting right there. As far as The Buddha was concerned, I was chopped liver. (Though that metaphor might not hold up in this case because The Buddah actually likes chopped liver.)
As The Buddha turns 8 today, I’m looking forward to the many wonderful, amazing, smart, silly, sweet adventures in store for him. And I’m looking forward to many, many more of his Daddy’s goofy grins, too.
Filed under: Connection: To Yourself and Others, Grief / Loss Tagged: birthday, child, connection, family, gratitude, son
