My sweet funny Lucas, you are eight years old today!
Lucas, you are kind, thoughtful, clever and silly. You are warm and affectionate and love to laugh. And you are charmingly oblivious to the sort of social conventions that require you to actually say hello back when somebody speaks to you, although I’m no longer sure I’d call you shy. You are effusive with your affection, and your teacher has commented on your natural charm on more than one occasion.
You love art and games of all kinds, from board games to video games. Since getting Charades for Christmas, you pester us endlessly to play it with you. You’re always up for a game of Mancala or Blokus or cards or Scrabble or Clue, and you’re now big enough to hold your own playing any of these games – although Charades is occasionally a little elusive for you.
You are a talented and prolific artist. You were delighted that we signed you up for a drawing class, though I’m sure your skill level was miles beyond what they’d usually see in a second grader. When you don’t know what else to do, you love to pull out your art supplies and start creating. Drawing, painting, sculpting with play dough, building Lego creations and papercrafts – if it’s a creative pursuit, you can’t wait to do it. “What should I draw?†is always the beginning of a creative adventure for you.
Speaking of adventures, we had a great adventure this past summer when we signed you up for soccer. It didn’t take you long to catch up with the boys who had been playing in the house league for years, and every single week I was impressed by your energy and enthusiasm for the game. You also love swimming, and this summer you loved being able to (finally!) jump off the diving board into the deep end of the Manotick pool to your heart’s content. You’re still not very interested in biking on two wheels or skating, though.
You love animals of all kinds, but you especially love baby animals. You love to watch the funny animal videos we find on the Internet, and you know all the neighbourhood dogs by name because you love to stop and say hello to them. I’m not sure you’d recognize our neighbours’ faces, but you surely know each of their pets by name! You and Bella have become good friends, and she is as happy to cuddle with you as to have you play with her and her toys. Every dog deserves a boy!
School seems to come easily to you, while focusing on a task at hand does not. You’re a day dreamer, and sending you off to get dressed can be a multi-hour experience if you are left to your own devices. You brought home not one, not two, but THREE A+ on your final report card for Grade 1, making your dad and me very proud and pleasantly surprised.
Once again this year, you were separated from your close friends and I was heartbroken for you. You, of course, handled it better than I did, and it seems that recess has provided sufficient connection for you to maintain your friendships with David, Chris, Matthew, Cole and Owen, and this year you’ve also invited a few girls from your class to your birthday party. Because you so love animals, a party at the Ottawa Humane Society seemed like the perfect choice for you.
Lucas, you truly are my sunshine. From morning “coffee and newspapers” to reading together at bedtime, and all the adventures in between, every day with you is a day full of joy. You are growing up so quickly, and I can’t believe how responsible you are, walking home by yourself some days and always taking care with your school assignments.
We love you endlessly, my sunny boy. Happy birthday!
