My Boy

 

Joshua.

My only son.

This kid is so special.  This year, as a third grader, he has really come into his own as a student.  I have always known that he is a smart boy.  He remembers everything he reads and he reads a lot.  Yes, he reads Calvin and Hobbes and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, silly books, but his favorite books to read are the nonfiction ones.  And he remembers everything he reads.  His favorite TV shows are Mythbusters and River Monsters.  He loves information.  He loves filling his brain with information.  He also loves to recount all the information in his brain to anyone that will listen.  I know way more than I ever wanted to know about mummies, Egypt, Native Americans, fish, rockets…

Not only does Josh love information, he is a natural when it comes to all things math.  He can do division and multiplication in his head.  When he talks about numbers, I can almost see him breaking them apart and putting them back together in his mind.  He gets numbers.  He also gets geometry.  Shapes, measurements and building all come natural to him.  He comes down from his room frequently with his Lego creations and they blow my mind.  His imagination and attention to detail is so impressive.  I find myself saying things like, “oh wow!”, “how did you do that?”, and “that is amazing” to him all the time.

This year Josh realized that he really enjoys fishing.  Shad and him have gone salmon/steelhead fishing several times this winter.  Josh knows the names of all the rivers in our area, what all of the different lures are called and can recount every section of the river after they do a drift.  He has also started taking the hunter’s safety test online so that he can start hunting with Shad.  He now knows everything there is to know about the different types of guns used for hunting and the ammo. 

I have really enjoyed watching Josh learn how important his job is as the big brother.  When we found out Bethany was a girl, Josh was pretty upset.  He really wanted a brother, or so he thought. But since Bethany came along, he has grown so much as a brother.  He loves his little sisters.  And, while they do fight frequently, Josh has a real tenderness toward both of his sisters.  The other day, Hannah and him were building Legos together.  Hannah came downstairs upset because her creation was not the way she wanted it.  After trying to help her and comfort her, she stomped up to her room.  Josh looked at me a said, “I’ll go talk to her, Mom.”  The next thing I knew, they were back in his room and he was showing her how to build her creation.  Josh will proudly tell you that he taught Bethany how to crawl.  He really did.  Most of the silly things that she says or does were taught to her by Josh.  When he isn’t teacher her to be silly, he is gently playing with her.

Something that I will never forget.  Something that is a true testament to his caring, gentle side is when I sprained my ankle.  The poor kid sat there and watched me do it.  He watched me roll in the mud crying in pain.  (It sound so dramatic now, but, at the time, it really hurt!)  When I was sitting with my foot up, he kept coming and checking on me and telling me jokes so I would smile and laugh.  At urgent care, when they wheeled me into the waiting room to go home, he could not stand to see me in a wheel chair.  He stood and stared as his eyes filled with tears.  With Bethany he is pretty careful.  But, one time, he was pulling her up from the floor by her arms causing her elbow to dislocate for the second time.  The poor guy was devastated. 

I am just so thankful for my Joshua.  This is the kid that has really taught me how to be a mom.  He challenges me in so many ways.  He forces me to practice patience, to let go of my distractions and really listen to him, to not get caught up in arguments and stay calm and to remember that life does not always have to be so task oriented.  I love being this kids mom and I am so proud of the boy that he has grown to be.