Dear Tristen ~ I promise

Dear T Birdie Bird,

well my son, here are the photos of your last day of 5th grade.  

in case your memory ever fails you,

you were appalled and completely embarrassed your mother 

was there to take photos of you and greet you as you walked out 

the door of your last official day of elementary school.

you gathered your stuff and jetted out the door, pulling me away from that little stringy brown haired girl that was so intrigued to meet me and told me "I'm Tristen's girlfriends' friend." - five times.  Phoebe + fifth grade = your very first "real" girlfriend. 

the only forward facing photo you allowed was cause

I said I promised your step-mom that I would take one.

That stopped you in your tracks and made you turn around.  

that was a lie. sorry Bird.  

I just really wanted to remember, always,

my boy on his very last day of fifth grade.

I'm turning 32 this month.  

and I've been thinking a lot about how I have let you fend for yourself,

how I've insisted that you figure out your homework,

how I leave it to you to know when and where you need to be,

how I've never really made you do chores, and pretty much oblige your every whim,

maybe to make you happy, 

maybe cause you're my only child, 

but maybe just cause I'm a lazy momma...  

You come back from summer va-ka in less than two weeks,

and I'm making you this promise, in a letter you may not read for 10 to 20 years,

that I'm going to be a better mom.  I promise.  

I'm going to earn brownie points from your future wife by having expectations that you DO brush your teeth morning AND night, and that you DO NOT wear dirty socks three days in a row [No, I will NOT any longer indulge your need to match your dirty Nike Elite Black socks with your outfit if they are dirty - which by the way, will save your feet from the foot eczema that you are currently battling due to before said wearing of dirty socks], that you make your bed, and learn to do your own laundry.  I will have a chore list that you must complete.  And I promise to follow-up!  No more stating a standard and not following up Bird.  AND you will take out the trash, and empty the dishwasher, and clean the car.  Cause your future wife is gonna love you for those things.  Trust me.  I promise.  

I promise that I am going to designate the hour and thirty minutes of required sixth grade homework a night to help you with homework to be sure that you feel smart and capable and keep getting those good grades.  I'm going to work on my patience Birdie.  I promise.  

I'm gonna have a calendar, and will keep us scheduled, and I'll know every practice, and every game time, and every event, and every assignment that is due before the day before.  I promise.  

I want this to be the year that 10 to 20 years from now, you look back and you think ~ my mom turned into a very good mom that year.  She helped me and molded me into the man I am today.  

This is my promise to you.  

I love you birdie.

Love,

Mom

~fifth grade~

those dang hats:
  
we spent more on those hats then the rest of your wardrobe,
and nothing excited you more than the perfect hat.
DC hats.  Your FAV.

that watch:

LOL ~ do you remember your obsession with buying knock off
designer gear from Ebay and your musings of buying them and
ripping off your fellow classmates by selling them for
double what you paid??  "It'd still be a good deal mom!"
I laugh.  And I smile, and wonder if someday you really will..
although, I will tell you.  The 2 weeks of waiting for the gear to
finally arrive in the mail was PAINFUL.
for EVERYONE.
ugh.  talk about mailbox stalking!
and daily disappointments until they finally arrived.

the black shirts:

you would only wear black shirts.
drove me NUTS!

those socks:

$14.99 a pair.
Nike Elites.
all.the.kids.HAD.to.have.em
red, blue, white, black,
you name it.
you coordinated around them.
and I'm sure helped Nike's sock stock soar.

you silly, silly bird.

i <3 you.
mom