Holding on to Three

Isaac turned 4 yesterday. It was a grand event (video and further blogs to come!) but it was a little bittersweet this year. There is something about 4 that marks a change. I think Isaac noticed it to. We were spending a little extra special time with him Sunday night - the last night of "3-dom" when Cheryl noticed his birth mark was nearly gone. Sure enough, the red blemish on his left side was all but gone. It hit Cheryl a little harder than she probably expected, but Isaac's reaction was a lot more emotional. Parents can often tell the difference between a childish fit and real emotional anguish and this was all too real. As we comforted him, Isaac began to sob. His "special spot" was gone. We had always called it that with a smile when he asked about it. We never could have guessed it meant very much to him. He was crying and began to say he didn't want to be four. He wanted to stay three forever. It might have been cute or funny at another time, but this night it was not. We didn't tussle his hair and say it's all OK. We sat there with him on the floor in the bathroom and struggled with many of the same thoughts. He hid nothing. The openness of a four year-old is complete, but behind our comforting Cheryl and I knew we each wished time could just slow down a bit, too.