Without permission, 365 days have passed since Calvin made his way into our lives; each one of them exquisite. So this day, when we celebrate meeting him for the first time, could be no different.
He started his day with breakfast with the family and presents from mom and dad. Acting his age, before his John Deere tractor was even unwrapped it was climbed and conquered.
He spent the day with Grandma Caldwell who was in town to help him recover from a perma-chest rattle. She peppered him with gifts throughout the day. Life Lesson: It's always more fun to go down for a nap if you get a birthday present when you wake up!
And he ended the day with a family dinner and ... cake. Kindof. It was actually
brownies, stacked as a trial run for the cake I planned to make for his birthday party to come. He enjoyed the homemade icing on the gooey brownie one finger swipe at a time. 'Atta boy.I can't believe our little guy is already a year old....
As the day approached, Eric and I thought that we might cry on Cal's birthday. Watching him grow and his character develop is wonder-full, joy-full, and awe-full. But each step, literal and figurative, takes him farther from the snugglebug we brought home from the hospital. Each word he understands moves him away from the cooing of (not-so) old. With every day comes new amazement only realized by letting go of yesterday's.
And so it was when I pulled out the outfit he wore home from the hospital that the tears came (as they do now). I mourn the loss of my bundled baby and our quiet days at home in order to fully welcome my joyful little boy, whose laughter fills a room, and whose legs work hard to keep up with his far-reaching mind. Like fine wine, Calvin gets better with age, and I look forward to tasting his finely crafted personality through the years.
As always, Calvin, May the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you his peace. Amen.
6 comments:
Oh, Cherith. What a beautiful, sweet, poignant, tear-inducing entry you have written about your one year old Calvin. Thank you for loving this dear little boy so very, very much. Each blog entry is a like a love note written to the loving, heavenly Creator.
Cherith how wonderful the celebration sounds!! Thank you for all the great pictures and entry's from the day he was brought home to present it has made us feel closer to you all!!
Corin
Happy Birthday, Calvin!
Cherith, you made me cry.
So beautifully put into words, my dear, dear daughter. I can tell you that Calvin's wonderful mommy has never stopped getting better with age either. It takes a tender and open heart to hold both grief and joy at the same time and courage to express it. Thank you for helping us all well with tears at the loss of utter intimacy and innocence and hold high the banners of love and hope. You won't regret helping Calvin find his strength and he'll love you all the more for it.
It sounds to me like you are yearning for another infant! Once my each of my kids started growing, I never looked back. For me, they only got better and better, year after year. Infants are not my cup of tea. ;-)
you are awesome, cher. such a great mom. :)
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