One shot at kid-dom

Greetings y'all !

Well like most parents , or at least I presume like most parents , he I sit sipping coffee with the morning breeze , watching my progeny sleep and wondering how did he go from learning to walk and and his first utterances to starting fourth grade? Oh sure I know time marches on, hold on to the moment , embrace his growth , it's his journey , yada yada yada . But I'm selfish sometimes. I reflect back an miss that wee bonnie lad. Ya only get one shot at kid-dom. Once you grow up you can't go back. 

Here's where I chastises and berate myself . I posit I've failed as single parent I'm so far as I haven't let him be just. Kid enough . He and I discussed that this year his job was to be a kid. Have fun and live life knowing that his daddy has back and future will be there no use rushing it. Hey I gotta be honest nothing beats his snuggles and giggles. I gotta encourage them and hold onto them. I know at any minute he'll trade me in for cool friends. Quite honestly I believe in him and our bond though. This week he really understanding that expanding and adding people doesn't take away from us.

We wrapped up our summer vacation with a last trip the BirdLand. He made his first poster for his favorite player . Naturally we got to the stadium early and ran into to some Yankee fans from NYC. We actually bumped into them several times throughout the day . Ace learned we can cheer against a team but the people tend to be just like us. It's helped that we both root against the BoSox. 

Before the game we played catch with one his game balls . He was outstanding it was was all grins and giggles until he missed one and it hit his nose.  I rushed to him and to my horror his nose was bleeding. Fortunately one of Baltimore City's finest was walking by with stadium security. They made a few quick calls while Ace squeezed his nose and me. i held him , feeling horrible. Then we all went to stadium main lobby. The staff gave Ace ice , medical treatment and comfort while he nestled in my arms.   Once inside Ace got to chat with Tommy Hunter. He got his ball signed and said "daddy this ball is never hitting my face again , it's my autograph ball now " after he got TJ McFarland to sign it we settled in and kept score for a good game. 

 After the game he played the Electric Louisville Slugger violin that was used for the national anthem , ran the bases and started chatting with a group a youngsters . They all waited outside the players parking lot and were excited when Buck Showalter stopped to chat and sign autographs . Ace was satisfied his summer vacation ended on a good note . 

So I guess the key words this year are love, belonging , believe , fun and kid-dom. I love my child unconditionally. I just need to ensure he only has kid thoughts and concerns . We look at children and spend so much energy preparing them for being grown ups that we forget to let them enjoy the journey and joy of being a child. A sweet , quirky and exuberant child. Don't get me wrong I'm still working him accepting personal responsibility this year. Your job is to keep me in check this year. I can't stop time. I can't stop him from growing up but I can ensure it's as wholesome and natural and organic and individualized as possible . 

So dear son - I believe in you ! Thank you for being in heaven and picking me as your dad. 

Have a great day y'all and thanks for reading .