A Journey to Love

It hit me tonight. Benjamin is growing up. There are so many things he can do on his own now and it seems that he has mastered a ton of them all in the last week. Here is just a sampling of his new found independence: He can get dressed and undressed by himself (fasteners are a little tricky still). Shoes are not a problem anymore (the Velcro ones anyway). Car doors are a piece of cake. He'll even open Brayden's door. Washing hands and face and brushing teeth come second nature to him. (Though I still like to have a turn with the teeth care. And I don't let him comb his beautiful curls himself. :) He can take his helmet on and off himself and is working on buckling his car seat himself, too. He can now reach all the light switches in the house, which leads me to... He has chores: Turning off all the lights before we leave Feeding Sadie twice a day Setting and clearing the dinner table While I love watching him learn all these new skills, it is a little bittersw...

I don't know quite what to do with myself this morning. My youngest child is napping and my oldest child is at his first day of preschool. I told Benjamin almost two months ago that I had signed him up for Little Hounds, a preschool put on by the Child Development class at the local high school, and he has been excited ever since. Every day he would ask me, "Is it March yet, Mom?" because he knew that once March arrived, he would get to start school. As soon as he got out of bed this morning, he announced that he was ready. I smiled and asked him if he might want some breakfast first. "I guess so," he replied. After finishing his bagel, getting dressed, brushing his hair and teeth (which was not accompanied by the usual tears and frustration...from either of us!) it was finally time. When we arrived, he walked right in, put his lunch box and jacket in his cubby, paused to give me a hug goodbye, and then he was off. To say that he was excited is a gross underst...