Phases of Childhood

Kyle and I sat outside last night watching Bronson as he apprehensively approached the neighbor's house to ask their 16 year old daughter to come outside and "play." He is very shy, but is yearning for friends to play with this summer. It is extra hard for him because his playmate is visiting his dad across the country until the beginning of August. It was the first time in a long time that the two of us became speechless in regards to heart tugs as we watched Bronson describe that he was lonely and just wanted a friend to play cops with him. We both looked at each other as the wordless exchange spoke more than we could have adequately expressed. A part of our family is always missing. This topic of conversation has been brought up quite a bit lately as we approach the issue of whether or not to add to our family. It is a very personal decision for us that we do not take lightly. We both believe that the Lord will provide us the right answer and that until that answer is made it remains a private decision for our family.

Bronson is in one of the cutest phases of his life right now. He is so full of imagination and changes his costumes and characters every hour. As I forget how quickly life can change I wanted to jot down a few of his funny scenarios lately:

-His favorite character is pretending to be Mr. Nebbercracker from Monster House. Of all people that a five year old could pretend to be this one is pretty far down the list. He is a very old crotchety man. Bronson's costume includes overalls, cut off shirts, shoes with no socks and the ability to make yard signs that say, "stay off my lawn." As a mom I HATE this outfit. It reminds me of something that one of my dad's old friends use to wear during my childhood and I explained to Bronson that no one understands that what he is wearing is a costume. They think he just likes to dress that way. (I do not mind taking police officers, firemen, cowboys, or spacemen to Safeway) I do mind taking a kid that looks like he just came from redneck country and his clothes don't seem to fit him properly. The final laugh with this costume is when he requested a maniac fringe from the hair stylist recently. I was so thankful that she told him that it was against the law for her to cut a little boy's hair that style.

-Bronson has stated for the past 2 years that he would like be a police officer when he grows up. He never uses the word cop and is very rigid about this topic of conversation. His police car currently contains a ticket book, a Tupperware container used for fingerprinting, a make up brush for dusting for fingerprints, a high visibility vest for traffic stops, several pairs of handcuffs, and flowers in case someone needs them. I LOVE the police officer phase.

-Bronson recently got to experience one of my favorite childhood joys; playing hide in go seek in the dark outside. We had several friends over for 4th of July and after the fireworks were finished he got to play with two of his favorite friends Joshua and Johnathan. They had a blast playing outside.

-Bronson used to LOVE rock and roll. He has recently decided that he LOVES rap music and will not stop requesting it. In my old rap loving days I would have been so happy to share this love for rap music, but I am not really enjoying this phase. He heard his first rap music while listening to one of my Now, that's what I call music CDs. The love started right away as he refers to it as dancing numbers. When Kyle recently asked him why he likes this music so much he told him that he just wants to dance.

-Bronson can still recite several movies, quotes, and songs. His love for TV is a bit much at times, but I have to honestly say that it does help him to process things when he has had a stressful day. He uses TV to unwind. We still don't have cable, but Netflix works well for our family and gives him TV time without the commercials.

-Bronson is one of the most snuggliest little kids you have ever met. I love that he still asks me daily for snuggle time. I love curling up with him on the couch and discussing his day.

All of these phases are going to pass much too quickly, but with each day comes an even better one. I am so lucky to watch Bronson's childhood unfold into a wonderful experience.