Pride and Joy

I will tell you the truth, I never believed it when parents would describe their children as their "Pride and Joy." It just seemed like something people say because they didn't know what else to say.

But, I recently realized that Reuben is my pride and joy. He is genuinely a really great person. And, I take credit for some of that. He came pretty great, but I haven't messed him up too bad, and a few things I actually did really teach him.

He is kind. He is aware of other's feelings and always does his best to take care of those around him. He is a great friend, and while this does lead to his own hurt feelings when he finds out that everyone around him is not as nice and friendly as he is, the blessings of his qualities to his own life are apparent.

He is smart. Sure, I worked on his letters and numbers with him, and I never dumbed down my speech around him so he has always had an impressive vocabulary. But this kid is smart. I wish you could hear him read. It is amazing, and I had very little to do with that. He has only missed one spelling word all year, and that was because he misheard the word, he spelled the misheard word right, so it didn't seem to bother him that much. You know your kid is smart when he asks you how to spell something, realizes you are wrong and then tells YOU to look it up.

He is the best kind of big brother. He is protective of Simeon, but still treats him like an equal. He is patient, and loving in everything he does. He never has to be asked to help Simeon, and only occasionally has to be asked to give Simeon a turn.

I love him so much. I'm happy he is mine, and watching him grow has been a pleasure. He surprises me with how cool he is, and you'd think I'd stop being surprised by now.