Who is this?

The trips to the beach always cause me to look at how much the boys have grown. Since we've consistently gone every two years since 2003, the trips becomes almost a "snap shot" of how much they have grown.

Alex, in particular, seemed to be SO GROWN UP this year. (I know I'll be eating my words in years to come, but there you have it... he seemed this tall, lean, BIG KID this year) Not only was it the practical things... he could he swim in the ocean with very little assistance and shower on his own and make his own sandwiches...but he sometimes slipped away from the kid's table and joined the adult conversation. I can see a little bit about the adolescent that he'll become in a few years, and then the adult that he'll become not long after that. It's happening before our eyes, unfolding day-by-day, but it took driving all the way to North Carolina for it to jump out at me with such distinction.

I'm priveleged to be his Mama, experiencing the day-by-day growth, and my work is to savor each day with delight, rather than lament the speed that his childhood is moving. My recognition of this fact didn't stop me from flicking back through some old beach pictures to smile at the memories of previous trips.

Note: I got back from the beach and turned on the computer to catch up on my blog reading, and came across this post. And well, she describes what I'm feeling exactly (about her nine-year-old-son Abbott):

"I think about who he is as his own person, who he is in our family, who he will become. He straddles the fence between babyhood and adolescence, writing an agenda for his birthday and micromanaging the details in advance while at the same time, running around outside with our broom, 'flying'. In Through the Children's Gate, Adam Gopnik described some behavior of his pre-pubescent son as one shirt in the suitcase on the way out the door. The new surges of independence I see in Abbott every day feel that way to me. Responsible and rebellious, childish and mature beyond his years all at once."

2009 Beach trip:

2007 Beach trip:
(Strangely lacking in pictures... any help here, Mike?)

2005 Beach Trip:

2003 Beach Trip: