Dear Holden,
Happy 9th birthday! I remember your last birthday
pretty vividly, because we were closing in on almost an entire year of the
global Covid-19 pandemic, and I felt so terrible that you were going to
celebrate your birthday in a very different way. Despite an entire year passing,
and all of us being in various stages of vaccination, it feels like we’re right
back where we started! Thankfully, it looks like we can still celebrate you in
some fashion – a big family dinner and an outing of your choice, etc. But it’s
not quite the same when this doom and gloom hangs over us. Regardless, I know
we’ll make the best of it and I’m just so happy we’re all healthy and able to
spend time together.
Of course, you’ve grown and changed over the past year – sometimes
it feels like I blink and you’ve gotten taller, or more freckle-y, or lost yet
another mispronunciation (there’s basically none left now *sob*). But you still
look like my little boy in so many ways (maybe those freckles have something to
do with it!).
You’re doing great in school, even though it’s yet another
year filled with disruptions and strangeness (masks and recess cohorts and no field
trips or parents in the schools, etc.). You were chosen to participate in a
math contest and had a glowing report card (well, apart from the recommendation
that you try not to talk to your friends so much in class – I have no idea where
you got that trait from!). You gave Minecraft a try this year and became
absolutely obsessed with it and have also recently discovered a fascination
with all things military vehicles (jets and helicopters and tanks) – so much so
that for your family birthday outing (instead of a birthday party) we’re
planning on going to the Base Borden Military Museum!
As always, you remain funny and witty and smart, with sharp
observations and intense roasts for your sisters especially. You can be a
little grumpy, particularly when you are hungry (but it’s nothing that three breakfast
sandwiches won’t cure). You still give the best hugs and snuggles, although
those are happening less and less frequently these days (*sob* again).
Above all else, I’m so happy to watch you grow and to get to
be a witness to how your amazing mind works and the things you discover each day.
I’m so proud to be your mom and excited to see what the next year holds for my
special ‘baby’ boy.
Love,
Mama
