Letter to Brody Jay

Dear Brody,

For the past 2 weeks we have been glued to the tv at our house.  It has been non stop Olympics.  We watched Michael Phelps win the most medals in history.  He is being called the greatest Olympian ever.  I'm sure someday his records will get broken and someone will have more medals than him, but we will never watch the summer Olympics without remembering him.  And-every time we think of Michael Phelps, we will remember watching him win a race by one-one hundreths of a second the night we were in the hospital and you were hours old.  Always always the summer olympics will = you, buddy.  People may have been making history.  People may have been winning medals.  But I became a Mommy.  I think I had the best time at the Bejing Olympics of all.

So much can be said about you, and since I'm your mom and this is YOUR letter, I'm going to do a little boasting.

You are smarter than heck.  I swear.  That isn't just the mom in me talking either.  You watch a show or here a song one time and you remember it.  All the popular songs on the radio, you know.  I think because of the shows you have watched on PBS, you now know your letters.  I would love to take credit, but its not me.  For a long time you have been able to sing the alphabet, count,  and recognize colors and shapes but all of a sudden you can actually pick out letters in words.  You'll see a sign and say, "hey mommy that sign has an E."  I'll look, and sure enough it does.  I could put you in pre-school, but you'd be in it for 2 years before you'd go to kindergarten and I'm afraid that you would learn so much that kindergarten would be boring for you.

One of the best things ever about you is that despite being such a big boy that is super independent, you still like to cuddle up to us.  Throughout any given day you come up to me and say that you need "loves and kiss" so I'll squeeze you tight, give you a kiss, and you ALWAYS say you love me.  If I say to you, "Do you know I love you SO much?"  You always answer me, "yep! and daddy does, and ryder does, and red grandma does....." The list goes on and on.  I know that we aren't wealthy people, but I think that you are SO lucky to be surrounded by so much love and so many people that love you.  What we may not have in money or possessions we make up in love, I think (a little sappy?  yes.  But true?  heck yes).

I know that you are at a young sweet age and so the evil things in the world haven't gotten to you, but I love that you naturally tend to gravitate towards the good things.  Your Uncle Spenser was here recently and he was video taping you and kept trying to get you to say swear words and it made you so uncomfortable.  Spenser was trying to be funny, but you knew it was wrong and you told him, "mommy says I don't need to say that."  If only you can remain that way I will feel like your dad and I did something right.  Whenever I pray I always ask that 1) I will be guided to teach you in a way that would help you grow into a good man, and that 2) because of things you are taught growing up, that you will develop a natural tendency to WANT to choose the right. 

You are such a good, sweet, smart, handsome boy!  The past 4 years have been the fastest 4 of my life.  I am so blessed that you chose me to be your mom.  I don't want you to grow up too fast, but at the same time I can't wait to watch you grow into a teenager, then young adult, and eventually into a man and dad.  I love you so much!!!

love,

mom