Becoming the Man

I watch you. A lot, actually - like, every minute of almost every day. But sometimes, I just sit back and watch you. We're buddies, and I am your favorite person in the whole world. You look to me for protection, for nourishment, for laughter. For clean clothes and companionship. For extra quarters to buy gum and remote-smarts to turn on Tom and Jerry.

You live in the world of a boy - dirty much of the time, running, playing, building, jumping, jumping, jumping, skipping and pushing your trains along in front of you. I wish you could stay here forever. By my side. Holding my hand as we cross the street. Sitting on my lap through your favorite stories. Laughing at my pretty lame jokes. I love being your world.

But, if you stayed here, you'd never see the other world - the world of a man. Of using the potty every time you need to go; of thinking rationally and controlling the urge to tantrum. Of sacrificing your own happiness for the happiness of another. Of working hard to make yourself succeed. Of feeling the love in your heart that only your own little baby can bring. I love thinking of you in that world.

And, little by little I see it happening. Flakes of little boy blowing away in the breeze, slowly revealing the man inside. The man you will become.