Dear Rowan,
Today you are eight! This was my favorite year as a child. Sadly seven was not a great year for you or Zane. I ended your birthday letter last year by saying this:
This next year I hope you continue to be brave. I pray that you keep trying new things, facing your fears, and continue to have unending confidence in yourself. Don't let anyone ever change your opinion of yourself. Never stop crawling up into my lap to give me hugs. I pray that you continue to love your little brother deeply and maybe try to be a little more patient with your older brother. He loves you too, even if he struggles to show it sometimes. I also pray that maybe this year you can not break your arm.
A month after I wrote that the world shut down and your life was turned upside down in the process. This year, facing the constant fears of all the unknown terrible things happening in the world, was not easy for you. I wasn't able to tell you what to expect next. I wasn't able to tell you that everything would be alright, since I didn't know if everything would be alright. I was equally as terrified, unsure, and stressed out so I apologize if I wasn't able to help you through this uncertain time. There were some extremely hard days where everyone was feeling all of their feelings. I am sorry this was the story of your eight year, but you made it. You even managed to not break your arm this year. Good job!
Through this entire year I was in awe of you and your brother's ability to roll with the punches. You did this not without tears or anger, but that's to be expected. You were unendingly brave as you faced all kinds of new fears. In the end you all just adjusted to whatever craziness became our new normal. From virtual learning, to mask wearing, to never see your friends/family, to not leaving our house for actual months on it you dealt with it all with such resilience. For that I will be forever proud of you.
During the midst of this pandemic we did manage to make some wonderful, lasting memories. As a family we spent more time together than ever before which lead to us having all sorts of creative adventures. Through these difficult days you formed a new, wonderful bond with your brothers as they became your only playmates. You also frequently drove each other crazy, there were fights and screaming, but there were also loads of brotherly love piles.
Tomorrow we turn a corner in our pandemic story. Tomorrow you start going back to school four days a week. After almost a year of fully or partially virtual this seems like a big step back towards normalcy. You have gone between excited and terrified about this new big step, as have I. There is part of me that can't wait for you to be back in school, learning from actual teachers, and playing with your friends. There is also a part of me that is really going to miss your constant presence in my days. Even though the never ending days here at home together were frustrating, I did love spending this time with you.
Today you had a pretty classic pandemic birthday. You woke up and opened presents, legos, pants, electronic rubix cube, books, and chia pet. We went to Target first thing for batteries and to let you pick out a present yourself. You went with a tiny drone which you have loved flying today. Able and his family came up briefly to drop of your present. They were there to sing to you and eat cake. Your theme was Minecraft, your favorite video game at the moment, and your cake had fun trick candles this year.
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| You and I came up with this cake idea, which included rice krispies and jello, two things I've never used in a cake before, but I love how it turned out. |
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| Nineties look courtesy of Uncle Able and Aunt Kari. You look perfect in it. |
