Thoughts on Motherhood and a Pre-Teen

Eleven years ago today, after 42 weeks of pregnancy, 3 months of bed rest, 18 hours of labor and 3 hours of pushing, the most beautiful little boy was born and I became a mom. I had no idea of the challenges nor the rewards that would await. At birth, Marshall had a teensy bit of red fuzz on the top of his head which my Mom quickly pronounced he got from her mother. He weighed 7 pounds, 3 oz., was 21 inches long and the longest, skinniest baby legs!

Today, my handsome son has one foot into the teenage years and one foot in childhood. He is almost 5 feet tall, still has those long, skinny colt legs and weighs a whopping 71 pounds after a meal. Tomorrow Marshall will achieve a goal he has worked hard for for almost 9 years. He will test and likely receive his black belt in karate! Hundreds of classes, thousands of hours of training, many bumps and bruises comes down to this. It is a remarkable achievement for someone so young and something no one will ever be able to take away from him.

This is the same child who likes to have Mom say prayers to tuck him in at night and who comes running into our room when he hears the house creak and groan. We still hear the little boy when he complains "how come Lily gets away with everything?!" We know he is still a boy who needs us when we have to remind him to brush his teeth, comb his hair, tie his shoes and when he would prefer Mom help with all of these things. Yes, I love it.

Marshall can be quiet and shy around adults he doesn't know well but we also have been told he is the class clown and we often see his quirky sense of humor. He laughs with gusto (often with beverages coming out his nose!) and is incredibly tenacious about things he is interested in. He remains intrigued by snakes, bugs, undersea things. He talks about being a paleontologist, a marine biologist and most recently, a chemist. Oh, and did I mention he is brilliant? He got the "loop hole" award at the end of 4th grade because he always devises a different answer but has a perfectly logical rationale for how he got to the answer, particularly with math problems. Marshall is tough on himself and secretly thinks of himself as uncoordinated and unlucky. He has no idea how truly blessed he is with his amazing good looks and his many mental and physical talents. That will come.

In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy the precious gift that he is, my son - the boy who made me a Mom. Marshall - we love you so much!