Time seems to be flying by too fast, and I just want it to slow down. Eventhough Dastan recently turned 9, I still see him as my little baby. I enjoy my cuddles so much, and I love my kisses every single time I drop him off and pick him up after school. I am afraid that one day, in his teenage years, this affection will stop. The time when I could carry him in my arms has already been lost, he's just way too heavy for me now; I don't want this time to pass quickly as well.
I have seen Dastan change so much in the last two months. He is now showering on his own, choosing what clothes to wear, and has even decided to sleep in his own room. Our bed feels way too big without Dastan between my husband and I. This change has also made our mornings dull. Every single morning Vikas used to complain, and go on and on about how Dastan took up all the space in our bed, and he couldn't get a good night's sleep...and now there is nothing to complain about.
Our routine used to be that the alarm would go off, and I would run downstairs to prepare breakfast and lunch for both Vikas and Dastan. Vikas would be the brave one responsible for waking up Dastan, changing him, and sending him downstairs for breakfast. Since Dastan could be grumpy in the morning, I never liked waking him up. Now, Dastan sets his own alarm, wakes up on his own, dresses himself, and does not even want me to make his breakfast or pack his lunch . Can you believe it? He makes his own chocolate pancake for breakfast and packs his own lunch now! He is practically doing everything himself, so Vikas and I now have peaceful, but boring mornings. This should be a good thing, yet I feel so sad seeing my baby grow and become more independent. While I know this is good, it still feels way too soon and too fast for me. I am proud of my growing baby boy but at the same time, I’m not ready for these big changes.
For the past few days, I haven’t given Vikas a chance to tuck Dastan in bed at night. Bed time is when Dastan is the sweetest, and I feel that he becomes my baby again. Before falling asleep, he turns into a chatterbox in an effort to fight off his sleep and be up as late as he can get away with. We talk about so many things during this time - we sing songs and tell each other stories. Dastan will also willingly give me lots of kisses and cuddles because he knows how to lure me in to stay with him as long as possible so I can fall asleep with him. My boy is so smart and cheeky. I am supposed to put him to sleep, but instead he always manages to put me to sleep because he knows just the right way to hold me and rub my head to put a spell on me that makes me fall asleep. My little magician.
I gifted Dastan a 24” bike before his birthday, so he would have the chance to ride it this summer. After a couple of days of being confident in a bigger bike, Dastan wanted me to ride along to see if we could make it from home to his school, and back. Vikas was teasing me because before we rode off, I put on my construction emergency jacket, made sure the water was buckled in my bike, and packed my phone in case of an emergency. Vikas sarcastically suggested he follow us in the car with the emergency lights flashing from behind. Do you blame me? It was my son’s first time riding his bike on the big road and I wanted to make sure that cars could see us from miles away. Dastan had such a good 9km ride, and meanwhile I was trailing from behind always reminding him to "slow down,” "watch your left," and "watch your right." Whew! Although we made it home in one piece, I was broken for 3 days. I am not as young as I used to be.
Happy 9th Birthday Dastan. You truly make each day a wonderful one for Papa and I. You will always forever be our baby and we love you way too much. Be safe and always be happy for Mama & Papa.
