Last Time

Often with Brian I find myself thinking, "this will be the last time..." For example, every time he starts to outgrow a clothing size (which notably is much quicker for Brian than it might be for another child), I think...this will be the last time he wears this outfit...when ever I'm dressing him. If it's an outfit I'm particularly fond of, I tend to get a little teary eyed. Shawn has just learned to accept this about me. I've never been a fan of endings. I cry at the end of every book-even if it's not sad-just because it's ending.

So today it was no surprise to Shawn when I insisted that Brian wear his Palmer jersey for the "last time" given it's Super Bowl Sunday. I also insisted that I wear my Houshmandzadeh jersey for the last time. Brian will outgrow his jersey by next season, and Housh, a free agent, will likely not be with the Bengals. Shawn even gave in when I insisted he wear his Bengals shirt-just so we would all match.

With the snow and ice last week, we didn't make to the Brace Shop to pick up the molding cap on Wednesday as planned. So tonight is the eve of three months of helmet wearing for Brian. Given that his head will be otherwise occupied once we retrieve the helmet, today was also likely the "last time" he will wear his newsie hat from Granddad. So, as you might imagine, he wore it more often than he needed to today! I LOVE that hat.

I persuaded Shawn to take some pictures to chronicle these "lasts." Going along with my melancholy theme for the day, we took the pictures in front of Brian's first Christmas tree, which is in my parents front yard. This is likely the last time he will be about the same size as the tree with snow on the ground. We're hoping the tree will grow big and strong and be much larger than him next winter! (And yes, this is hopeful thinking on my part in a way. I'm DONE with snow for the winter!) We also took pictures in front of my parents Christmas tree. It's the last time he'll see it up this year. He will miss the lights. He really loves them. Per tradition, Mom will be taking it down now that Super Bowl Sunday has come and (almost) gone.

I know all of these lasts are really the beginning of firsts for Brian. Outgrowing one size of clothing, means we're onto a new size and the first time he'll wear the many outfits his Nana has purchased in that size. The end of the Palmer onesie just means that we'll have to buy him a big boy jersey for next season-another first. And, the end of helmet free life just gets us one step closer to the first time it's off for good, and he has a rounder, more normal head shape. Still, the "lasts" are a little bittersweet for Mommy.