william! william, you are thirteen. this is hard to believe. you were a little, little kid when i first married your dad. energy off the walls, obsessed with thomas the tank engine, a little crush on me, and definitely interested in whatever your brother jordan thought was cool.
things have changed. you still have a lot of energy–we’ve dreamed of a hamster wheel with you at the helm, powering the house with all that energy, thomas the tank engine has been replaced by legos (which, i think, is a dwindling obsession too!), you don’t have a crush on me anymore (i suppose it had to end some time), and you could care less what jordan thinks is cool. you like what you like. that’s good.
you are so sensitive, so tender. your love language is affection and you are not afraid to hug us, or say ‘i love you’ at the end of a phone call even if your friends are around. you have a lot of friends and it’s obvious you’re well liked. by adults especially, they love you (and your teachers go on and on about you too). i remember a few years ago, you were probably eight or nine, and i was a bit frazzled. i was doing a bunch of things, all at once, in the kitchen and i was about to take the trash out. you looked at me and just got it. you said, “you can’t do it all, let me help you.” and you took it upon yourself to take the trash out for me. it was such maturity, such empathy for your age. i’ve never forgotten it. you’re also so sensitive that we’re afraid of you getting your feelings hurt. sometimes we wish you could see yourself the way we see you: handsome, sweet, likable, kind. we want you to be confident in yourself. we think you’ll get there.
even though we worry about you with these qualities, we think they’ll make you an amazing husband. we’ve remarked before how lucky your wife will be. you will dote on her, and show her you love her and love her well every darn day. this silly period is just a blip on the radar. you’ll get through.
we hang out a lot as a family. we go for walks, we run errands, we go to dinner. you’re always up for hanging out with us, even if something better might be an option. i think you’d really prefer to be with us. it’s really sweet.
we love you william. happy birthday!
That's very sweet:) I always think of 13 as a slightly awkward age, especially for boys, but perhaps this is not true of all of them!
He sounds a great 13 year old and future husband of his lovely wife! Happy birthday!!!!
Your love for sweet W just shines through.
Happy birthday to him 🙂
This is unbelievably sweet. Happy Birthday to William!
What a cutie! Happy Birthday!
You can tell you and William have a really special relationship…i have always known this through talking to you for years, but it really shines through (as E put it) in this post. And i hope and PRAY my future daughter marries someone just like him.
That us such a lovely post and happy birthday wishes from us.
Bonnie Rose | A Compass Rose
what a sweet post. happy birthday to him!
Happy Birthday William! That was a very sweet note from your mom, you're lucky. 🙂
happy birthday william! what a thoughtful post 🙂
xo,
kristyn
Happy Birthday, William!
such a sweet post, bridget. what a wonderful boy! that story about him helping you touched my heart. happy birthday, william!