Middle Milestones

The other night, after a tough few days at school, my son came home excited.

“Guess what?” he said at the dinner table. “Tomorrow I am going to bring home my very own book. And I am going to READ it to you! By myself!”

His eyes shone with pride, his whole face alight with excitement.

“No way!” I said. “I don’t believe it!”

“Oh, I am,” he said. “It’s called ‘Look at the Lizard.’ And I’m gonna read the whole thing!”

We all cheered. And for the rest of the weekend we all talked about how we couldn’t wait to hear him read.

Now my son has always loved learning. He is fascinated by fish and marine life, dinosaurs and animals. He’s also spent lots of time practicing his reading at home. But as the middle child, I fear sometimes his accomplishments get lost in the mix. He’s not the first in the family to learn how to read. And he’s not still working on toddler milestones like his little sister.

And so when my son bolted through the door and pulled out ‘Look at the Lizard,’ I left my computer and made him read it right then and there. Then we had him read it at the dinner table. And to his grandparents on the phone.

All afternoon I told him how proud I was of him. Of how hard I knew he was working at school. Of how special it was that he loved to learn.

And that night after he read ‘Look at the Lizard’ one last time, I snuggled him close and turned on his favorite audio book on octopus facts. As he repeated the familiar script, I smiled.

“I can’t believe you’ve memorized all this. You know so many interesting facts,” I said. “I love that you have so many unique interests. I love learning about them with you.”

“I do too,” he said.

“Pretty soon you’ll be able to read all about octopuses on your own too.”

He smiled. “Maybe I can read those books to you too.”

“I hope you do,” I said.

Then I hugged him tight. And as I kissed him goodnight, I hoped he was always this proud of his accomplishments. Because even if his milestones don’t come first, they will always be his firsts. And there will never be anything more important than watching him achieve them.