Ten Years of Motherhood

Ten years ago I celebrated my first Mother's Day a week overdue with my first child.  I think the doctor jinxed me by setting an induction date for the Monday after Mother's Day and saying I wouldn't even need it because I'd certainly have my baby home by then. Caleb seemed to take that as a challenge to stay put for as long as possible.  May 13, 2002 we welcomed our first child into this world.


Tomorrow I not only celebrate ten years of being a mom, but I also celebrate Caleb's tenth birthday.  It's amazing how quickly the time has gone.  It seems only yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital and calling grandma to come over and entertain him at 2am when he was wide awake and his parents were too exhausted to stay up with him.


Now he's two inches shy of five feet tall and challenging his five-foot-two grandma that he'll pass her up by his next birthday.  He probably will. It's been fun to see him grow into the young man he's becoming.  I love looking through old pictures from when we were doing construction on our house and seeing Caleb right next to my dad complete with his toy hammer and nails "helping" build.  He's always been a great helper.

Auntie Kelsey and Caleb 2005

Gone are the chubby toddler cheeks that were so sweet to smooch.  They've been replaced with the face of a boy.  Just the other day I saw him running across the gym with his class and thought to myself how "grown up" he looked.


Caleb has never been one to get excited over things.  He's very even tempered and easy going.  For him, being excited means an extra sparkle in his eyes and a slightly wider grin.  I saw that sparkle when my brother invited him to go to Washington, DC with his family.  I wasn't sure how he'd react to the invitation since he's very much a homebody, but that sparkle was there immediately when he realized what that "fake" airplane ticket meant.


It was there again when he opened his birthday present a week early.  He found this lego set in one of his books that he really wanted; The Crystal Reaper. We found it on ebay for over $200 brand new which was way too much for our budget. There was one used set that was up for auction and ending that night and I told him we could try to bid on that one.  He sat in my bedroom while I was on the computer waiting to see if we won.  I gave a heavy sigh when the auction ended and he said, "We didn't get it did we? That's okay mom." And went down to bed.


Little did he know that I actually won it for him.  As he was opening his gift we could see him slowly realize what it was that he was opening.  That sparkle and grin were there when he rushed over to me, wrapped his arms around me and said, "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.  I love you mom."  Money well spent to see him that happy.

 So tonight we are going out with grandma to celebrate ten years of motherhood, ten years of grandmotherhood and a tenth birthday. My how the time flies!