Just Keep Swimming

Dear Sawyer,

We went to the Bahamas over winter break (and man, I wish we were back there now because it's currently 25 degrees in New York) and you had so much fun playing in the pool every day. You were the first one in every morning and even when the sun was setting, the wind was picking up and the rest of our family had already gotten out because our lips had turned blue, you happily stayed in the pool until the lifeguards announced that it was closing for the day. You really love being in the water, which makes me so happy because you were scared of it for so long.

When you were 6 years old, our family was vacationing in the Hamptons and we were all in the hotel pool. Daddy was watching MuiMui in the shallow end, I was swimming with GuhGaw in the deep end and JieJie was hanging out in the middle with you. You'd been wearing a life jacket but you had taken it off when we ate lunch and hadn't put it back on afterward. This is the part I'm not proud of: Neither Daddy or I were watching you because you'd been holding onto the edge of the pool in the shallow end the whole time and we thought you were safe. I guess you had started feeling brave, though, and inched your way closer to the deep end. You went too far, lost your footing and slipped under the water. Thankfully thankfully thankfully, JieJie saw you and was able to get to you and pull you up, but you'd swallowed a ton of water. You got out of the pool and threw up a lot.

I'm still so angry at myself for not watching you when I should have been and I'm so unbelievably grateful that you were okay--at least physically. Understandably, you were nervous around water for a long time after that incident. You went into pools at camp and other vacations, but you stayed in the shallow end and did not want to put your face in the water. At the beach, you always stayed far away from the shoreline, out of fear that a strong wave would suddenly pull you into the ocean.

Some traumas stay with you but I am so happy that this one seems to have loosened its grip on you. Over the years, I've watched as you've bravely walked further and further into the ocean and splashed happily in pools whenever you have the chance. You no longer feel the need to stay at the edge of a pool and you willingly walk into the deeper sections (and Daddy and I now always watch all of you kids like hawks).

Over the past three summers, you had daily instructional swim at your camp, but you didn't really advance much. So imagine my surprise when we were in the Bahamas and I was watching you play in the pool and you just started swimming! I'd never even see you float in the water but all of a sudden, you were not only floating but actually swimming from one section to the next! Daddy and I both watched in amazement and I felt so proud of you! You overcame your fear and learned how to swim! You are so awesome!

Love,

Mom

What Feeling?

Dear Sawyer,

We were all watching Little (the movie about the adult woman who magically transforms back into her body as a kid but still has her adult mind--wow, that sounds ridiculous when I type it out like that). It's funny and silly and there's a scene where the woman has to go back to school (because the world thinks she's a 10-year-old) and her teacher turns out to be really hot. In the scene where they introduce the hot teacher, they slow-mo his entrance and blow wind in his hair and the women all ogle him. When we watched this scene, you were confused and asked me, "What's happening?"

A little later, the woman-as-little-girl is flirting with her teacher and she asks, "You feeling what I'm feeling?" The teacher gets flustered (because, hello, he thinks she's 10) and says, "No! I'm not feeling what you're feeling!" You, again confused, asked me, "Wait, what is she feeling?"

Hahahaha! Oh, please stay innocent as long as you can, Baby Bear!

Love,

Mom

Singing in the Shower

Dear Sawyer,

You were taking a shower earlier and when I walked past, I saw you--with head covered in shampoo, body covered in soap--singing and dancing to the music you could hear playing from my room. You looked so happy that I didn't say anything and just let you be. May you always sing and dance like no one is watching--but maybe not in the shower, where it is all slick and wet!

Love,

Mom

Hallway Hugs

Dear Sawyer,

This is the first year that you and MuiMui have attended the same school and you told me that whenever you two see each other in the hallway, you smile and wave excitedly at each other and then go up to each other and hug. So sweeeeeet!

Love,

Mom

My Cute Companion

Dear Sawyer,

Tonight at bedtime, you asked me to hang out in your room for a little bit. I asked you if you wanted to talk, just the two of us, since we hadn't had much one-on-one time in awhile and you said, "Yeah, plus I just really like your company." You are always so sweet!

Love,

Mom

You're Nine Years Old!

Dear Sawyer,

Airplanes can fly because the engines use propellers or jets to propel the planes forward. The first dinosaur was a plant-eater the size of a kangaroo. The largest diamond ever found weighed 1.37 pounds and measured more than four inches long.

These are just a few of your favorite facts from your National Geographic book Why? Over 1,111 Answers to Everything. We have had that book for years and I see you poring over it all of the time because you have such a curious mind and love learning about all of the why's--why do people have fingernails, why do leaves change color in the fall, why is the Golden Gate Bridge orange? I love that you have such a thirst for facts and I love that you are constantly starting our conversations with "Mama, did you know . . ." You absorb all of the information you learn at school and from the books you read and you love sharing it--I learn something new from you every day. Happy 9th birthday to my walking encyclopedia!

You are 9 years old! One minute, you were a tiny 3-year-old who loved dinosaurs and playing with cars and the next minute--well, you still love dinosaurs and playing with cars, but now you are a bit taller! And you have many more interests and hobbies. You like reading about engineering feats and interesting weather-related phenomenon; you like watching nature documentaries with Daddy, you like building elaborate structures with Legos and Keva planks; you like playing chess and basketball; you like hiking and exploring new trails with me; you like going on bike rides; one of your favorite activities is looking for rocks and throwing them into the ocean; you enjoy watching water flow, whether it's a waterfall, stream or even just the kitchen faucet while I'm doing dishes. You also still like to draw and make the most amazingly detailed pictures. When you grow up, you want to be an architect.

Your favorite foods are still pizza and my sausage barley soup (but without the vegetables, haha). You like to put everything seasoning on, well, everything. You love fruit, especially "waterlemon" (yes, our family members all still call it that because of you!), blackberries and Asian pears. You like our dance parties. Your favorite song is "See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa and your favorite line from it is "how can we not talk about family when family's all that we got." When you recite that line, sometimes your voice wavers and you get emotional. I really like that you feel things, whether you are talking about your friends or a thought that you had about the planet. You are a very sensitive kid and you embrace your emotions, which is one of your biggest strengths.

Another one of your strengths is your continued love of reading. Yes, you love reading nonfiction books but you also devour stories inspired by Greek mythology and historical events. You are still a fan of Dog Man, Wimpy Kid and Wings of Fire, and you also like the Boxcar Children and Gregor the Overlander series. Also, it is STILL difficult to get you to get ready for school, come downstairs for dinner, do your nighttime routine, etc. because you constantly get distracted and lose yourself in a book but as I've said before, that's not the worst problem for a parent to have!

You are such an inquisitive, joyful, funny, kind and sweet kid and I love watching you be you. I am proud of you, Baby Bear, and I hope you had a terrific time celebrating your birthday today. I love you so much!

Love,

Mom

Rocking Out

Dear Sawyer,

We went to the aquarium yesterday and I gave you a snack and water bottle to put in your backpack. At one point, you left your backpack on a bench and when I picked up the backpack, it was heavy, like way more than just a snack-box-and-water-bottle heavy. I know you tend to squirrel things away in your bags, so I wasn't totally surprised, but I decided to see what else you were carrying around and when I unzipped your backpack, there was an actual ROCK inside. You'd found it the last time we went hiking and put it in your bag for safekeeping--and kept it there. I can't believe you walked around all morning with a heavy rock in your bag!

Love,

Mom