The Beau boy

I have a son named Beau.  He is 5 and possibly one of the coolest people on the planet.  Today for instance he is walking around the house carrying his Harry Potter doll in an empty tissue box because Harry needed some submarine training.

Beau is also the king of costumes.  He has a whole wardrobe department in his bedroom.  Some days he is Harry Potter, others he is a pirate, ninja, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Spiderman, Batman, Superman, Troy from High School Musical, Percy Jackson and once he was even Talia from Percy Jackson.  He is creative, inventive, and there are times I wish I could see the way his mind works. Did I mention the time he was a vampire and decided he needed a coffin?  I told him I couldn't make one and after a long period of silence from his room, I searched for him and found this.

He was 4 at the time and decided his toy box would make a perfect coffin.  You can't tell from the picture but he is wearing a vampire costume under the blanket.

He is always asking me how things in movies work.  Whenever I try explain how special effects are made by computers I worry I'm stealing magic from him.  Like just for a little while I want him to believe that broomsticks can actually fly and there is a water horse living in the Loch Ness.  But, he always wants to know how things work so I do my best to explain.  

He loves animals and science and fishing with my husband.  He loves to be outdoors.

We read Harry Potter books, encyclopedias, field guides about amphibians and reptiles, and dinosaur books where he is constantly correcting my pronunciation.   He like to figure things out.  Usually this means he has taken something apart and then I get the joy of learning how to put it back together.  

When he grows up he wants to work with my husband, or be a dad, or an archeologist, or a teacher, or invent magic wands and flying shows.

Beau has quarks.  Lots of them.  Sometimes, someone he doesn't know well talking to him can  send him inside of his coat in 'turtle mode'. Sometimes he is overwhelmed by loud noises or on the other hand he is the loudest person in the room.  I am sure that to people who don't understand him, people who don't know how his mind works, well I don't really care what they think.  So maybe we go to the store with a boy dressed as Harry Potter once in a while (complete with lightening bolt scar) or maybe he is carrying around a toy lizard that is his imaginary friend for the week (that maybe has a habitat at house that sleeps on Beau's bed).  These are all parts of the adventure that is being Beau's mom.

Beau has taught me so much.  How to choose my battles.  Patience.  Acceptance that things don't always go the way I plan - flexibility is a good thing! Never to lose the wonder we see everyday in life.  

I call him my sunshine boy.