Last night after the High School wrestling meet, there was a special youth exhibition.  Seth was one of the boys who got to wrestle.  He wrestled a boy who was bigger and better than he was (although, actually, Seth would disagree with me on both counts) and was soundly beaten.  He was also dropped on his head.  The ref stopped the match while Seth recovered flat on the mat, Rich and the coaches by his side, and me on the bleachers with an icy stomach and worried sisters by my side.  He got up and finished the match, getting pinned 2 seconds before the buzzer blew to end the match (which he would have lost by 2 points).

It was very disappointing and sad for Rich and me but only because we are his parents.  The team did awesome and won the meet.  All the boys did so well and we were extremely proud of them.

Seth has only lost two matches this season out of about 14 (I lost count).  He is very good and enjoys the sport.  When we got home, Rich was concerned about a concussion and slept four inches away from Seth on the couch all night long.  I was concerned about my precious sons wrestling in general but Rich said that life is risky and they were just as apt to get head injuries on the playground or climbing trees or wrestling each other when I’m not looking.

Rich decided to have Seth stay home from school today so he could rest and be quiet.

This has worked out nicely for Seth, because

it

is

his

birthday.

Seth turns 8 years old today.

He is currently sound asleep on my bed after a whole morning of “quiet”.

But this morning after his bath, I took these portraits of him.

Remember the time when your legs were so short you couldn’t bend your knees over the edge of Mom’s old rocking chair?

Remember that baby face you used to cover in kisses that you can still see glimpses of?

Remember that birthday when you were turning eight and you asked your mom to bake you a chocolate cake with vanilla cream filling and you licked the beater?

Remember the card that your sister made you and she wrote “You’re the best brother ever in the world?” and when you read it you said, “I said that to Ethan once.”

And how on your birthday you think you need to go outside and look for your shadow?

Remember how I love you?