you

You are my best friend. You have always been, of course, but now more than ever you are my teammate. My soulmate. My helper. My partner in all things.

You are stubborn. You are timid but are beginning to feel the bravery in the tips of your toes. You are shy. You are my confidence. You are sweet.

You are my reminder of good things. "Some people aren't nice friends, mommy, but some people are. Some people are nice friends and that makes me happy." You are the spewer of wisdom.

You don't like to sleep, so you don't. You wake up when you want to and turn all of the lights on in the house until everyone follows suit. You are full of energy. You are full of laughter. You are full of opinions.

You are the order in the chaos. You let me know where things should go and what we should do. You let me know what is on our agenda and when.

You want to be a crossing guard when you grow up. You sometimes want to be a chef, a dentist or a firefighter, but lately you just want to be a crossing guard. "I can help the boys and girls go to school safely," you say. You are a do-gooder.

You put the balls back into the ball pit at My Gym when the other kids toss them out. Did I mention that you're a do-gooder? Because you are. You are the reinforcer of kindness. You are always there to tell me you love me. You always know when I need it most.

You like sparkly polish on your toes and you wear it well. You love "1985" and tell me that Bright Eyes hurts your ears. You are your own person now. You are the most amazing person I've ever met.

You are a stickler for routine. You prefer fruit in the mornings with a glass of almond milk. You pronounce milk "miltk" and it's so cute and the main reason I offer you milk in the mornings.

You have formed an obsession with three robots I found at the dollar store. You lose them and pitch a fit until we find them again and all of the paint has been rubbed almost completely off of them. You love them anyway. You love everything anyway in spite of imperfections.

You, ironically, are a perfectionist. You don't like to get your clothes dirty. You don't like to make mistakes. You're also the first person to remind me it's okay when I make a mistake. You are forgiving of others and I want you to learn how to forgive yourself.

You are my everything. You are my son and my sunshine. You introduce yourself as a vertebrate who lives on Earth when people ask who you are. You have a backbone and you are mine.

You are my joy. You are my pride. You are the reason I feel I can tackle whatever the day may bring even when I feel myself sinking. You are proof that there really is magic. You have made my memories my greatest possessions. You are proof that kisses do heal boo-boos.

You. You, my sweet boy, are everything.