There are few things in my life that has given me more joy than when Carter skips. I don't know how or exactly when he learned how to do it, but suddenly one day this fall he could skip. We were walking home from school and I asked, as I always do "did you have a good day of school?" He chirped "yep" and skipped out in front of me. I immediately felt a smile spread across my face. He was completely unaware and lacked any self-consciousness about it. It was contagious. I could feel myself wanting to join in and be a Kindergartner again myself.
Since then, he continues to break out in spontaneous skipping. And every time, it makes my heart and my spirits lighter. I wish he could pull off skipping in such an innocent and boyish way for the rest of his life, but I recognize there is limited window that skipping is allowed for a boy. I mean, if Nathan took off skipping I'd laugh in hysterics and for reasons that aren't so kind. This is such a magical moment for me with Carter. I find myself in anguish that Kindergarten is half over. He's grown so tall and knows so much. I have seen the first graders and maybe they still skip when they are feeling joyful, but it's hard to say. I'm willing to bet second grade boys have nothing to do with it.
I suppose I should try to keep a more balanced view, you know, throw in a few thoughts of when he's being stubborn or whiny, or repeating the same phrase hundreds of times in a row, but I can't always. The cold, hard truth is that he is basically, a sweet, thoughtful, and loving boy. He is always ready with a hug and kiss, he is usually happy to help out with his little brother, and he loves having responsibility. I suppose someday he'll be a teenager and all of this skipping euphoria will have dissipated in a gray cloud of mumbling disrespect. Alas.
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