It has been one week since my third child, Brady, turned 10 years old and it is finally time for me to write my little birthday tribute to him. I always struggle to write these posts not due to lack of feeling or inspiration, but because I struggle to put those feelings into words. After all, how do you possibly sum up what your child means to you or what his birth did to change you as a person for the rest of your life? How do you find the words to describe how much each day with your child is a true gift from God? And what words can articulate how the mere presence of this angel in your life moves you to tears on a regular basis?

So with that in mind, I will do my best to describe my life with Brady in it, but I know there are no words to adequately describe how much joy he adds to my days. I will post this meager attempt at putting a mother’s love into tangible words, fully knowing I have failed miserably with the first sentence.

Brady’s birthday was on October 15^th but he celebrated it with the H1N1 virus so needless to say, it was a pretty low-key birthday for my little man. We gave him his gifts on his actual birthday, which he seemed grateful for, but the normal excitement in his eyes was hampered by the raging fever he was fighting. My heart just broke for him because I know all too well how much you wait all year for your one special day to arrive and then to wake up on that momentous day with a fever, terrible cough, and body aches is just downright depressing.

As an adult, I have spent birthdays in the hospital and lying sick in bed from my asthma. I still remember how sad I was to see my birthday come and go during those “sick” years and feeling too ill to take in the moment. So for a child….a child who waits anxiously all year long for that one day….well, like I said….my heart broke for him.

On the bright side, he rebounded rather quickly from the virus and in no time was up and around enjoying his birthday gifts. We had my parents over for a big Dairy Queen Ice Cream cake, per Brady’s request, and he blew out his candles just a few short days after his actual birthday. Brady took the illness in stride, as he tends to take most things in life with little or no fussing.

He has always been a very even keeled, well mannered, and mellow kind of a child. Even as a baby, I remember how easy he was to take care of. It was like he knew I had my hands full with his two older siblings who are admittedly, much more high maintenance than Brady has ever been, so he always just hung out quietly by my side and observed the world around him. He has never been a huge talker, but when he does chose to speak up, it is always deeply thought out and profound for even an adult’s thinking.

I will never forget some of the intensely deep things he used to say about God, Jesus, and death when he was only 5 and 6 years old. He would tell me, as I tucked him in at night, how he was so excited to meet Jesus and that death wasn’t sad, it was exciting because you could finally meet Jesus in person. I used to walk out of his room in a cold sweat and check on him every 15 minutes during those nights because I was so afraid he was bracing me for his death or something morbid like that. I mean, talking about how excited you are to die someday is not what a mother wants to hear from her healthy 5 year old, but Brady never saw the problem in talking about death. He truly had a better grasp on the entire issue than most adults I know…myself included.

And his faith in God has always been unparallel. He blurts out things that I struggle to wrap my brain around, but I know he must make the good Lord smile from ear to ear to hear one of His miracles understand Him and His teachings in such a profound way at such a young age. I can honestly say that Brady has taught me more about faith than any Bible study or years of attending mass ever has.

I have always called him a wise soul, and he has never failed to live up to that kind of spirit. For example, the other day he was hanging out in the kitchen with me while I was wrestling to get any amount of actual food into Miss Natalie for lunch. He was home sick, Natalie was sick, and I was coming down with the flu myself at the time. Brady was quietly observing, as he always does, and then when he felt it was time, he spoke up and said, “Being a parent is really hard. I mean, you are fighting to feed one baby and you are growing another baby in your stomach. It’s a lot of hard work to be a mom.”

I instantly laughed aloud as I tend to do when he speaks up because I’m always taken back by his amazingly vivid observations. I then paused for a moment just marveling in the wisdom of his words. I told him that he was exactly right….that being a parent was a ton of hard work, but it was also well worth it. He watched us for just a short minute longer and then ran off to play. And these are the typical interactions we have with Brady. The strong, silent type who blows you clear off your feet when he does decide to let you into his thoughts.

As difficult as it can be sometimes to parent a child who doesn’t openly share his feelings without a considerable amount of prodding, it can also be the most enlightening experience of my days as a mother. He opens my eyes to ideas and observations I have never even considered before his young mind dreams them up. He is such a delight to spend time with because I know that he is comfortable enough in himself, even at such a young age, that he does not have to fill the silence with chatter, but can sit there in the quiet, content and taking in the moment. I know many adults who can’t even do that.

So it is without further ado that I wish my angel….my Bray-Bray…..a happy 10^th birthday. I know in my heart that he will fill this upcoming year with more wisdom and clever observations and make parenting him the joy that it has and will continue to be.

I love you my son deeper than you will ever know.