Rex turned 5 years old on Tuesday. We had a Space-themed pizza party at his preschool to celebrate. Rex was so excited! The kids ate pizza on Space Shuttle plates, using Space Shuttle napkins, and then they enjoyed a Space Shuttle cake. When that was all over, they had Space goodie bags to take home. (I restrained my urge to purchase the Space Shuttle pinata and the inflatable Space Shuttle the kids could ride on- we were trying to keep this low-key). Sean was excited to come into the "big kids" room to join us for lunch. He devoured his pizza as though he had never eaten before! And Rex was very well behaved. We had been going through a little phase recently where he was very difficult to be around. But he seems to be past that now, and I couldn't be more relieved. I actually found myself using phrases like "I'll give you something to cry about," and "your face might freeze like that" when he would get into his whining, pouting, and angry moods. I started putting him to bed a little earlier (now 8:00 is "staying up late"), and that seems to have helped. Lord knows the child loves his sleep. I think it's in his sleep that he comes up with all of the profound questions he likes to stump me with- like "How does the Easter Bunny unlock the door?", and "Are Jesus and Santa friends? They are both always watching me." (Now there's food for thought. From a child's perspective, they are very similar- You can't see them, they are always watching you, you ask them for things, and they give them to you, they have 'magical' powers, and only religions that believe in one believe in the other. Interesting. )
Anyway-
Anyone who has talked to Rex recently knows that the boys loves space. It seems to me it was around this time last year that his obsession with space started. I figured it would last for a month or two, and then he would move on to the next obsession, but here we are a year later, and the boy still loves anything to do with stars, planets, rockets, and satellites. I'm not complaining. Not many five-year-olds are that interested in something that is actually educational. Maybe we have a future NASA employee on our hands. He can already look at the night sky and find Venus and Orion's Belt-maybe he will someday discover a new planet (one to replace Pluto!), or a new galaxy. But first, he'll have to go to school, and that has been our latest dilemma. The public schools around here leave a lot to be desired, so we have been going 'round and 'round trying to choose which private school to send him to for Kindergarten (Yes- only 6 more months until he starts Kindergarten!!!). I had no idea what an agonizing decision this would be. We've narrowed it down to two very good schools- each with an equal list of pros and cons. He will do fine at either school, so I shouldn't be so worried- but I'm not just choosing a school. I'm choosing where he will spend the majority of his waking childhood days. I'm choosing the group of children he will be friends with for the next several years. I'm choosing how much sleep he will get (one school starts earlier than the other- Michael feels choosing the later one is a no-brainer). In essence, the school I choose will have a huge impact on the person Rex turns out to be. (And I thought his obsessive tendencies only came from Michael...). I have until Monday to decide. It may come down to a coin toss.
So, let me end by wishing a Happy Birthday to my oldest child. I am so blessed to have you as a son. As your mother, I would love you no matter what you do or say. But you make it easy for me. You are such a sweet, funny, caring, and smart little boy. I look at you and my heart fills with pride. You have a unique perspective on the world, and you are always wanting to learn more. The truth is, I often find myself learning far more from you than you do from me. You keep me on my toes, that's for sure- but I wouldn't have it any other way.
