Sam

I sit watching out the back window with Harper in my lap flipping through books before she goes to bed. The sun is starting to set as he is practicing kicking the ball dressed in all of his new soccer gear. They have been out there for quite some time. He is so serious and focused as he watches and learns from Russ. He tries and tries again to kick the ball in the net and is so proud and confident when he does. He is actually really good at playing soccer already.

He is so tall and lean now. His hair is darker and not blonde and baby fine. My first baby is now my boy. Different memories begin to race through my mind; his birth, crawling, walking, learning to talk, rolling a ball back and forth for hours with my toddler, his first day of pre-school. I look up at the pictures framed on our wall we had taken a year ago. So much change is such a short span of time. How grateful I am we had those taken to document the moments in time so well.

He falls and I see him immediately look up for me through the window. He decides to hold back his tears and doesn't call out for me as he always does when he is hurt. Instead he gets up, brushes his knees off and looks at Russ,

"It's ok dad, let's play"

I feel my eyes fill with tears. He needs me less and less as time moves on and it happened too fast. Watching your children grow up can be so bittersweet at times.