Days go passing into years....

The youngest of our clan has now turned six. I am not really sure what the implications of this are, except that I can say "You are six now. You can button your own shirt/put shoes and socks on/tuck shirt in, etc." (This can be heard Sunday mornings, since that is the ONLY day Andrew would be caught in anything other than a t-shirt and basketball shorts.) It has gotten better lately, but in recent months Andrew went through a period where he was asking me for help with everything. Things that he has been doing on his own for a while now. I am sure there is some deep-seated psychological reason for this, but I like to attribute it to the fact that Andrew and I are semi-co-dependent on each other. I have to admit there are times I encourage and relish his dependency on me. I delight to think that I have a bit of a momma's boy. He thinks I'm really funny, and he still lets me kiss his goodye before he gets on the bus. At what age does a mother have to stop smothering her son with kisses as she puts him to bed, or snuggle on the couch (please refer to previous post), or pick him up in her arms for no good reason? (This last one we had to try today, just to make sure I could still do it and that nothing had changed overnight. We're still good!) So really I can't complain about the few times he asks for help with buttons or shoes or picking out clothes. It's all my fault anyway.

I'm not saying I miss those baby/toddler days when a child is more dependent that independent. I practically threw a party when all four kids could get themselves buckled in the car, I breathed a sigh of relief when I no longer had to sit on the bathroom floor as children splashed me, I jumped for joy the Sunday when the only tights I had to put on were my own. Having autonomous children is nice. But with the youngest, and especially with a boy, I find myself unable to totally let go. The apron strings are well-knotted.

P.S. Glenn and Andrew went to the Cavs game last night, which marked the return of three key players--Larry Hughes, Anderson Varejao, and Lebron James. These 3 helped end the six game losing streak and made the game really exciting for the boys. Here is a clip of highlights--I know you'll love it.