“Hey, Mom! When I get a dirt bike, do you think I’ll be able to do the sweetest tricks?”
“Hey, Mom! If I taught Ace (our dog) how to do tricks, do you think we could charge people to come watch?”
“Hey, Mom! Did you know that when I ride bulls, I’ll be traveling ALL OVER the world?”
“Hey, Mom! Do you think that I’ll be the most awesome {fill in the blank of basically anything}?”
“Hey, Mom! When I’m older, I think I’ll live in Texas.”
Jack has a lot of ideas, A LOT, and Joe and I have been watching this little guy figure the world out for nine years today. We have been answering questions, hearing ideas, and guiding this imaginative, inquisitive, entertaining, creative, active and funny kid. Jack definitely makes our days entertaining.
Having a boy among all these girls adds a dynamic that our family desperately needs. When we found out we were having a boy, we were delighted, obviously, happy that he was healthy and excited for some blue among the pink. Our family was just as excited, with Grandpa Webel proclaimed that the “Webel line will go on!” I thought about baseball games and bicycles. Joe saw a little farmer and a buddy to keep him company. Our girls were the three amigos. Jack was going to bring the balance to wrangle that drama!
What I didn’t realize was that while he would bring balance to our family by just being “the boy,” he would also be loving, caring and kind to his big AND little sisters. He’s one of those kids who can move from one group of siblings to the next. He’ll shoot hoops and wash calves with Anna, dance in TikToks with Josie, ride bikes and jump hay bales with Amelia, play endlessly outside with the twins and then go in his room and read and build with Legos and draw alone. Jack has a wide circle of friends and makes us all die with laughter with his dance moves and borderline “Dad” jokes. Ask him about the kid who was kidnapped when you see him next.
We are in the midst of a crazy time right now, sheltering-in-place. However, that doesn’t faze Jack much. Sure, he misses his friends, but as a farm kid, social distancing doesn’t seem that strange. It just seems like summer. Now that he’s older, his independence is found on a bicycle…preferably popping wheelies as he rides the quarter of the mile to the barn to check the calves and barn kittens. He and his dad are often found headed to the other farm to chore, stopping for a special treat (which he always tells me about, even though his dad says not to!).
As Jack grows into a “real man,” like he says, I continue to marvel that with each year, each birthday, I enjoy my kids more and more. There are days I miss those sweet, chubby toddler days or the early elementary days. With each phase, just like his siblings, I see Jack becoming the person God intended him to be. His questions, his humor, his patience, these will all serve him as he turns nine today…nineteen in ten years…90. I am lucky to be entrusted with this little soul and hope that I can continue to answer all the questions, laugh at all the jokes and watch all the tricks.
Jack, you are a delight. You absolutely complete our family balance, and your “moves,” your caring heart and your questions make our life interesting and entertaining every single day.
Here’s what I will tell you: keep asking questions. Keep caring for your animals and your people. Keep being creative and entertaining. Keep being YOU.
Your dad and I have loved watching you grow and learn these past nine years, and we can’t wait to continue as you become that “real man” you’re hoping to be.
“Hey, Jack! When you’re a “real man,” you’ll make us so proud.”
“Hey, Jack! When you figure out what you’re going to do with your life, you’ll be pretty amazing.”
“Hey, Jack! Keep caring for your animals and your friends and family.”
And yes, “Hey Jack, you’ll be able to the sweetest tricks on the dirt bike…when you’re old enough to buy one yourself!!”
Love,
Mom
