Stay gold, Ponyboy

I love my two kids more than anything on the planet. While at Build-a-Bear workshop today, I realized something: my 10-year-old son will not be sweet and innocent much longer. I don't mean to alarm anyone; he is not delving into the occult or anything. What I mean to say is he will not want to make a build-a-bear for many more years. He will not want to play with his sister for very much longer. He is growing up before my eyes.

But I love that he made his owl, Hedwig, today.

I love that he made pretend voices along with 6-year-old sister on the way to Costco.

I love that played with his new friend for a couple of hours when we got home.

And I love that he still sleeps with his stuffed animal friends.

I am just holding on to these wonderfully innocent moments because my little boy will be going into middle school after next summer. My little boy will be a tween and it won't be cool to sleep with stuffed animals or play with one's little sister or go to Build-A-Bear.

But at times like these, I like to recall this beautiful poem I memorized in the 7th grade:

"Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower,
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf,
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down today.
Nothing gold can stay."
--Robert Frost

Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold.