Last One

Tyler is a senior this year. I am still not entirely sure where all that time went.

Wasn't it just yesterday he was a wiggly 8lb new born in my arms? How can he be almost 18 years old already?

Wasn't he just that pudgy little baby that loved to snuggle and sing? I remember how just showing him a camera made him smile.  I remember how he would climb up on my lap and snuggle his face in my shoulder as though it was just the two of us.

Wasn't he just that precious toddler that got into everything and explored his world with sheer tenacity? I remeber asking him once to sing me a song because I didn't feel well. He asked me what I wanted him to sing about and I answered, a lion. The song that followed was exactly that... " bout a yiiion, a yiooon, booout a yiiiooonnn!"

Wasn't it just yesterday he cried on my  shoulder afraid the tooth fairy would try to take all of his teeth? Wasn't it just yesterday that he learned to ride a bike and made his first communion? How did the time go by so fast?

It seems like the last few years went by even faster. I swear he just started wrestling and won his first medal, but last night I watched his final home match.

He placed second at the Vocational State Tournament last weekend and Sectionals is only weeks away. His birthday is approaching with light speed and I am both excited and nervous about what that means for my boy. Last night they honored the parents of the seniors and I received the most beautiful flowers from Tyler.

And then... for the very last time I watched my boy ,who somehow looks more like a man then I ever realized,  walk onto the mat. His final home meet of his wrestling career. Tears sprung to my eyes and my throat felt tight. The season is closing quickly and my little boy has slipped away. I am honored to be the mother of such an outstanding young man. The speed that took us here makes my heart both ache and take flight.