Dear Mr. Man,

This week you turned four years old. You awoke on your birthday and the first thing you said was,"Am I four yet? I don't feel four. Are my legs tall enough to be four?"

We assured you that indeed your legs were tall enough and asked,"If you're not four, who are we going to give these Hot Wheels to?" You decided very quickly that you must be four.

I can't begin to tell how you have changed my life. It seems only recently, I never dreamed of having a child. Now I can't imagine my life without you. From the moment you opened your eyes and we looked at one another, I became a completely different person. Someone with a new direction, new hopes and dreams, new goals.

Your mother and I have been very lucky with you so far. Our jobs have allowed us to spend much more time with you than most parents get. One of us was always with you, until this last year when you started pre-school. I was lost at home without you. I found myself wandering around waiting to go pick you up.

Time was something I never thought about. Now it's as if I can see myself aging. You grow and change so fast. The rate at which you learn new things is amazing. Now that you have reached the question phase, you can't take it all in fast enough. You can ask questions faster that we can answer them.

We were watching a little TV this week. This is how it went.

Is this Planet of the Apes? Are they in a ship? What's he doing? What does that say? Why do they have his name on there? Who's that? Are they flying? Where are they going? Who are those guys? Are they dead? Where are the apes? Are they going to crash? Where are they going to crash? Are the apes going to get 'em? Where are the apes? What happened to that one? Is that one an ape? Why is that one dead? Why did they crash? Why did they crash in the water? Can they drink that water? Can they swim in that water? Why did those people steal their clothes? Are they naked? Why are they naked? Are they chasing those people? Where are they going? Where are the apes? What are those people doing? Are they eating those plants? What's that sound? Is that the apes? Why are the apes after those people? Are the apes going to kill those people? Do the apes eat people? Why are they running? How come the apes are mean? What happened to him? Is he bleeding? Is he dead? What are the apes doing with them?


Woof...It went on like this, non stop. I had no time to try and even form an answer before you fire off the next one. It was really quite funny. It's not just that movie. You are like this with almost everything now. You are giving us a chance to see the world through your eyes. We get to see things that have long been forgotten. You are truly a blessing.

Each day I'm eager to see what you find, what you will learn, what new things I will hear you say or see you do. Four is going to be a big year for you, with many changes. I'm sorry that I will miss a big part of it and I hope I will never have to miss any more. I will think of you every second.

Remember that love only works when it's given away, and that you are loved more than you will ever know.

6 comments:

eclectic said...

Awwwwww... Happy Birthday Mr. Man!! Four is SO great -- probably my favorite of the preschool years, at least with my three kids. I predict it will be intoxicating to see what independence he will add to his arsenal of capabilities during this time of lessened physical presence.

Iron Fist said...

Wow! Happy birthday, Mr. Man!!

Sizzle said...

Happy Birthday Mr. Man! You're totally adorable. You and your Finding Nemo umbrella. :)

Pumpkin said...

Happy Birthday, Mr. Man!

That was a very nice post and I identified with a lot of it. :)

Kids are great.

Mad William said...

Mr. Man would like to thank all of you for your kind thoughts

Radioactive Tori said...

What a beautiful post. I had to double check that my husband didn't have a secret blog though because we call our 4 year old Mister Man (notice the slight difference) and I have called him baby bug since he was born. He asks a million questions just as you described, but we also have 3 other children.

Happy birthday to your Mr. Man!

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