It's More Than a Tooth

It was another one of those momentous days that kind of kicks you in the pants.  You expect that it is coming but you never really are prepared for how you are going to feel when it arrives.  My big boy Tyler finally lost his first tooth.

He was the last of his friends to lose a tooth and I kind of liked it that way.  He has the perfect little smile for a six year old kid, I guess now its perfect minus one little lower chomper.

As a Stay at Home Dad, I see my son more than most fathers and never really appreciate just what a big kid Tyler is becoming.  Going through the daily minutia, I never sit back and think about him growing up.  Sure he can read now, figure out video games that I would have no clue whats going on, and facetime mommy from my iphone, but all of those things came gradually. This whole tooth losing thing really hit me.  It got me to thinking.

I have a hard time with the kids growing up.  In the spring after the last of the snow melts I think about how its going to be another year before they can go sledding again. In the summertime its when the fireflies are no longer out and you don’t know if the next summer they will care about chasing them down.  In the fall its when you go apple and pumpkin picking for that one day knowing its going to be a whole year before THAT happens again.  Winter hits me hard, the same day Tyler lost his tooth was also the same day I took down the Christmas tree.  No one ever wants that magic to end, and I can only think that there will be a little less excitement each and every year.

So I know that it is only a tooth and there will be more that fall out. There are certainly going to be other moments that sneak up on me.  I need to enjoy those moments more.  He IS growing up and there is nothing I can do stop it regardless of the amount of coffee I pour down his throat or the number of cigarettes we smoke together.  I jest of course, but if I could keep him just the way he is I would.  I said that of course when he was four months old, and three years old and so on.  I am sure I will say the same thing when he is 10.  Everything with him only gets better, and I only get more proud with each passing day.

I created this blog to share with you my  misadventures with my kids.  Some posts will be more benign than others.. I only hope that you will enjoy watching my kids grow up as much as I do.  Thanks for reading! 

John Willey - Daddy's in Charge?

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