growing

The orderliness of the world around me always catches my attention. What I mean is this: drive over a state line, and many times the terrain changes almost immediately. And, there are some months - October, for example - that, in our corner of the world, see a change in the weather almost as soon as the month begins. It's as though the universe acknowledged, hey it's fall now, time to pull out the blue jeans and chill out with the 90* afternoons.

Birthdays are the same way. One year old is qualitatively different from eleven months old. As though a little body suddenly understands, I'm not an infant anymore, better hop to it and start growing up. It surprises me every time. Suddenly Silas at 12 months old is this little PERSON who drinks (soy) milk and eats french fries and says, "night-night" to tell me he's ready to go to bed. And throws fits in public and toddles around the house and climbs onto furniture (or anything, really, that will stand still long enough for him to scale it) and pushes trucks around and asks to be picked up ... I knew it would happen, but I never get over the wonder of it.