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| The day before Connor was born. |
Connor is, what conventional wisdom calls, "a handful". But really, if you want something great in life, don't you really want a whole handful of it? Not just what you can grab with a tweezer or a pinch...but a whole, overflowing, messy, delicious, more-than-you-think-you-can-handle handful of it? That's what we got with Connor Robert Tate. Every day I marvel at the overflowing of everything that he brings to his life and to ours.
This year has brought so many changes to Connor and to our family. We're passing outside of his brother's babyhood and into a different world. Connor has taken this ride of a new baby in older-age with us as a partner. He's a great, big older brother. A great one. He's patient and caring. He entertains his brother and keeps him safe. Life with a baby is not easy but Connor has made it easier than it would have been. I am amazed at his capacity to move on from the tough stuff and focus on the things that make life good. I hope he's always like that---its the secret to happiness.
Just like his dad, he loves sports and he's good at them. If only there were more time in the day for more of them. His love for football, basketball, and baseball was really cemented this year. I suspect that he'll also be like his dad in that he'll love them all so much it will be hard to focus on any single one of them.
Connor is doing really well in school. His report cards this year have been amazing. He loves history and math. He's not big on reading, but he eats up information in any other delivery channel he can get it.
A few weeks ago, someone (a mom with a daughter in Connor's class) I don't know terribly well told me that she saw Connor at school and that he asked her if she'd be chaperoning their spring field trip to a farm. When she told him she wouldn't be able to because she had to work, she said his face fell and he told her how much fun he had with her on the last trip. She said it was so nice and that it made her feel so appreciated and wanted. That's my boy...his heart on his sleeve. I hope that he keeps it there always...no matter the price...because that's where it belongs if you want people to know you and your heart.
I love you, Connor. You truly changed my life in the most amazing way and made me into a better person. It is truly and always my privilege to be your mom.
"I'll love you forever. I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be."
