Happy 6th Birthday, TJ!

Dear TJ,

I have had the honor of being your mommy for six years now. I’ve watched you grow from a tiny, squirmy, 6 lb 2 oz baby into a tall, strong, handsome six-year-old boy. All moms say this, but you’re growing up so fast! Sometimes I wish I could press pause and keep you small, but the truth is, I grow to appreciate you more and more with each passing day.

You are your own person now. You have your own thoughts, your own personality, and of course, your own quirks.

You are reading at much higher than a first grade level. I get such joy out of the fact that you love reading Harry Potter with us, and that you lounge on the couch reading the Guinness Book of World Records I bought for you. You love magic, cars, dinosaurs, Star Wars, Legos, pirates, PBS Kids, and video games. You tend to obsess a bit too much about video games, and we have to remind you to stop talking about Plants vs Zombies and Super Mario Bros Wii. But we know that obsessions come along with Asperger Syndrome, even though you aren’t aware of your diagnosis yet.

You ride your bike with training wheels, but I can see a future in which you don’t need the extra help anymore. You just need to remember to pedal faster so you’ll stay upright. Your swimming lessons are going well, too. You can swim short distances without a noodle, and you can tread water. I’m hoping your next round of lessons will get you to the point of swimming independently.

You like doing things by yourself. You can pour yourself juice, use your step stool to get a cup of water from the  faucet, open your own snacks, take a shower without help, get dressed… the biggest thing you need to work on is tying your shoes. I can’t help you with that, because I still do bunny ears, and I want you to learn the proper way to do it.

You’ve already had your heart broken by a girl on the school bus, and you now have a “thing” for Rebecca, who was with you through kindergarten and two years of preschool. Apparently she has a “boyfriend,” and although you understand now that you’re really too young to have a girlfriend, it makes you jealous. You wanted to make sure that she was invited to your birthday party but he wasn’t. (Oh buddy, the teen years are going to be so hard…)

You and your cousin Avery have a bit of a love/hate relationship. You both love each other and talk about each other all the time when you’re not together, but then you fight a lot when you’re together. I guess it’s like you’re siblings, since neither of you have those. But you did insist we invite her to your birthday party because she’s your friend.

I love you so much, Pookadoo. I can’t wait to see what the next year brings.

Love,
Mommy

Christina Gleason (976 Posts)

That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.