Tobin is NINE.

Tobin turns nine years old today. I feel that same tiny ache in my heart with each passing year, as he seems more and more grown up. But the joy of watching him grow certainly helps the ache. I also think differently than I might have a couple years ago. I feel especially grateful to be here, taking it all in.



Things have always come easy for Tobin, even when they haven't. He's playing his fifth season of baseball this spring. For a few games, he was in a hitting slump. Through it all, he kept his head up, never complained and continued to lead the dugout cheers when each of his teammates came to the plate. Then one game, he went 2-2 and scored a couple runs. He was so happy. In the next game, things didn't go quite as smoothly. He got a bruised forearm while fielding a ball on the pitching mound and sat out a couple innings. When he returned, he ended up going 1-2 and got a put-out while playing third base late in the game. He quietly confided in me when we walked to the car after the game, "Mom, I think that was my best game of the season!"



We had Tobin's birthday party at our house yesterday. When he woke up, he said he couldn't wait until 4:00--party time! We'd been planning the party for a couple months. Tobin wanted to set up games in our yard, and he and his friends had a great time playing kickball, wiffle ball and capture the flag. Matt and I both got a kick out of his school friends giving him mostly books as presents with more than one of them telling us, "Well, we know that Tobin LOVES to read." Sure enough, at the end of the day, while his younger siblings were still running around outside, Tobin had his nose in a new book about rocks and minerals.



Over the last few months, Tobin read the entire Chronicles of Narnia. (I've never done that.) We also have the Harry Potter series, and Matt and I have both asked him if he's looking forward to it, and he says something like, "No, not yet." As easy-going and open-minded as he is, I appreciate that he has a sense of what he's interested in and pursues that.



Tobin is an easy kid to be proud of. He excels in school, and is kind and helpful. In many ways, parenting him has been, well, easy. It's not hard to "stay out of his way" because his way is so harmonious. I guess sometimes I wonder if I'm not offering him enough help. Would he ask if he needed it? He's an understated kid, definitely less emotive than his siblings. He keeps a lot of things to himself. Recently, I swooned when he referred to one of his classmates as "probably my best friend." I treasured this glimpse into his heart. I am figuring out that the differences in my kids allow each of them to teach me unique, important things. And since Tobin is my first child--the one I've known the longest--I've probably learned more from him than anyone. I am thankful for another trip around sun with him, trying as best I can to follow his lead.