Wesley Turns 4

This past week Wesley turned four years old and I cant stop asking myself, "HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?" and "WHERE DID THE TIME GO?!?"

My son is four years old. He's not a baby anymore -- he's crossed over the line from toddler to preschooler. He's big. He's awesome. He's Wesley. And he's 4!
These four years have passed quickly. The reality of that block of time stings my heart and I find myself wincing at the fact that the next four years will pass even quicker. They're not kidding when they say, "children don't keep." They don't stay small forever. They just keep growing, and learning, and becoming the people that they are destined to become. The chance to occupy a front-row seat to watch the childhood phenomenon is a Mother's gracious respite. There is no stopping a child from growing up, but there is a thing called "enjoying the journey." Sitting in the front row seat for my children allows me to take in the show, to relish in the spectacle that is the progression of my children's lives. 
A simple and small word comes to mind as I think about how to process the reality of my children getting older:

JOY

So much is stored in those three letters. I can hear my mom's testament to the usefulness of that word's meaning in this life we live as I think about how to go forward knowing that time is fleeting. She would say, "Have JOY. Enjoy the children while they are young. Learn with them. Grow with them. Snuggle them, and LOVE them." What trust I hold in my own mother's perspective for she, too, has taken a walk down this same path in raising her own children. 

So have joy, I will. Enjoy these children, I will. I will celebrate the time I have with each of them until the day ends, just to do it all over again tomorrow.  
To my dear sweet Wesley:  Happy Birthday.

Thank you for being YOU. Thank you for being awesome! Thank you for making me laugh, and for making me cry. Thank you for making me feel what it is to be a mother. I cherish you, my son, forever and always. Let's never stop celebrating the gift that we have to be together, to be part of a family. Happy 4th Birthday, Wesley.

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