our mornings

Dear Henry,

My sweet 7 1/2-year old boy, no longer a baby but still my little boy, I love our mornings together.

They always start early, my little bird but we are cut from the same cloth, both of us made for mornings. You never wake up on the wrong side of the bed. You're always chipper and talkative as we make our way down the cool wood stairs. You greet Howard in such a happy way and wait patiently as I take him outside.

There's always cocoa and a snack. You always watch a show while you eat your snack. You drink your cocoa while I sip my coffee and we take in the morning, waking nice and slow. Before the rest of the day begins, before we have to rush to get ready and let the rest of the world in, the mornings are ours.

I love your joy for all games; checkers, war, life and sorry. You're latest favorite is tic-tac-toe. You're seven and our days are filled with getting ready, breakfast, spelling word practice, lunches packed for school, walking to and from school and lots of playing with the neighborhood friends. I'm so happy that you've forged new friendships in our home here and am so proud of you for your commitment to learning and listening at school. I so dearly love though that before anything else begins everyday, before we have to let anything else in, the mornings are ours. That it's you and me in the quiet of those early moments. I get to listen as you ask some of your most serious questions or tell me some of your deepest dreams. I know as the years go by there will be more and more places you'll want to be and know I will always treasure these times when it was just us in the quiet of the house and the mornings were ours.