THE ONLY BOY WHO COULD EVER TEACH ME...

My baby is 6. He is going to his first soccer camp this summer. His first summer camp ever. I am anxious, to say the least. He's doing very well. He really enjoys it. I just have that mama-tiger thing with him. That tight feeling that comes up in my chest and holds on to my heart when he is doing something he has never done before.

He is a kind and gentle soul. He doesn't run out on to the field and hoot and holler. He walks out and watches. He participates when invited. He falls in line, does not push his way to the front of the pack. He is not a "look at me, watch me!" kind of kid. That being said, he has incredible athletic skill. He throws and kicks better and farther than I do. Literally. Which my husband will say is not so good anyway, but I don't have a great frame of reference. He's better than a 35 year-old adult that I know - who is me. Did I tell you that he's 6? And still comes to my bed in the middle of the night a few times a week? And is a lovey snuggly pumpkin? He would probably prefer that I didn't tell you that last bit.

Levi will often think things through, he is slow to speak up until he is comfortable, is thoughtful and patient, not very much like me at all. He does things with Zoobs and K'nex and Tinker Toys that blow me away. Great movable structures. He's awesome with puzzles. He is also a math whiz (puzzles and math are close neighbors in the brain). His father cannot stop talking about all of these things. I get the daily "Levi did this new thing..." report from Rube. And though nothing makes me happier than listening to my husband talking about his beloved son, Rube thinks I get impatient. And I do. But not because I don't totally dig hearing about it all. It's just because I am an impatient person. You understand the difference, don't you? I knew you would.

It is hard to believe that I had anything to do with the creation of this person. This tiny man who loves me so much. Hard to believe, yet my life would be unimaginable without him and the sweetness he has brought. He is a wild card in my life. And I am all the better for having played the game.