Braving Boys

May 30, 2003

He didn’t arrive into the world until 11:05 PM on May 30, but we’ve been celebrating the kid all weekend long, and we’re still hours away from that glorious moment seven years ago when Danny arrived in all of his whopping-big glory.

It started with a platter of cookies delivered to the boy’s first-grade class on Friday, followed by a road trip right after school pick-up to an Orlando hotel. Danny loved the Marriott Courtyard outdoor pool, and the yummy Carrabba’s dinner out we enjoyed that night, too. Bright and early the next day, we were at the gates of Magic Kingdom, where Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain and Buzz Lightyear were favorite rides, and the day spent walking (and walking and walking) wore us all out. We refueled, though, with some trail mix and a stop at the hotel, before heading for another great dinner (plus free birthday dessert), and a nighttime adventure back at the park.

AI's Aaron Kelly

We rode all the faves again, and ended the night at midnight, just after big bro Joe spotted and was photographed with American Idol’s Aaron Kelly.

Sunday brought more adventure — lunch with one grandma and a big gift (an iPod Shuffle for the guy who loves music), plus dinner and more gifts with another grandma, aunt, uncle and cousins.

“How do you feel about your birthday weekend?” I asked Danny at the end of his official special day. His response: “Good, terrific, awesome, fantastic!” Those are his sparkle words, he told me. Indeed, they are — the words he’s learned in class to spice up his writing.

I’m not sure I could have said it any better. The weekend was, in fact, good, terrific, awesome and fantastic. How fun it is to be the mom of a 7-year-old!

The birthday boy!

Happy Birthday, Danny.

I love you.

The season is over, and boy, was it fun. Joey scored several touchdowns, pulled lots of flags, and improved lots. Danny pulled a few flags, too, ran his little heart out, and reveals that games were so much better than practices because of the snacks. He thinks he might be headed for a career as a professional snapper.

Photo: ashleigh290, Flickr

I just can’t tell him no, that cute little 6-year-old of mine, who challenges me every morning to swim 10 more laps than I did the previous day.

It all started with 24. Danny was home sick, and he came with me to the neighborhood pool where I’d planned to clock 20 laps. I jumped in the water, and he set himself up on a lounge chair with a towel. “Do 24!” he instructed, and I did. It was a nice push, and I felt pretty darn accomplished after my workout.

Still sick the next day, he was poolside again. “Do 30!” he declared. And so I did 30. It felt good.

Happily, Danny got better, and he eventually went back to school. It doesn’t matter if it’s a sick day, school day, or weekend, though, because the boy keeps barking orders — 40, 50, 60, 70, and today, I swam 80 laps. It took me an hour to finish, and while I tell Danny I might not be able to keep going up and up and up because of the time commitment (I do have a job, after all), I just can’t seem to refuse him. I guess it’s because I want him to see me accept the task. We like the “never-give-up” mantra in our house, and well, I don’t want him (or Joey) to see me quit or otherwise blow off an opportunity for exercise. My wish is that one day, when faced with something they think they can’t conquer, they remember their momma, chuggin’ through the water, swallowing mouthfuls of chlorine and hanging onto the side of the pool, sucking wind.

There are other reasons I don’t quit: I like having a goal, I like the motivation, and swimming like a crazy person is making me more fit — my biceps are better, my body feels more toned, and soaring through the water has been a great diversion from the running blues.

How far will I go with these laps? I’m not sure. But I do know this: I’ve got plans for 90 tomorrow.

Danny is such a good singer, and I really don’t think I’m saying that just because I’m his mom. He’s got that raspy, throaty sound, and when he belts out his favorite tunes, I just marvel at what he can deliver. He’s not convinced he’s all that good, and so he sneaks at singing, turns his vocals into baby babble when he knows we’re watching, and he flat out refuses to let us record him. “Hot Dog” was the last time we got a video camera near him.

Danny thinks football is in his future, because, well, he’s winding up his first season of flag, and that’s how he knows he probably has a shot at playing center as a pro. But me, well, I think he’s more likely to be a performer of some sort. And just as soon as I capture some more audio of my singing boy, I’ll be sure to share.

For now, though, just imagine a 6-year-old boy watching this video (his No. 1 pick at the moment), and cranking out the lyrics like a superstar.