52 moments | five

[simply]

This isn't the best photo.
You are high on Pepsi Max
and on life
and there's a cut on your lip
from shaving
(oh yes, this just in: you shave now).

You like Batman figurines,
the Wiggles, John Wayne,
Little House on the Prairie,
and you shave.

You chose to go to Sizzler,
oh most classy of establishments,
and I suspect the attraction
is not the food itself but the fact
that you are allowed to walk right up
to that creepy health hazard of a buffet
and serve the food all on your own
and onto your own plate
--as much as you want.
Am I right?

You are very much thirteen in this regard.
But you also talk about getting married
and having a job someday (farming and
being president are two favourite options)
and you like wearing slippers with that hideous dressing gown
that looks like someone wrapped you in a dead bear,
so occasionally you are also fifty-five.

But you are still a fan of snuggles
and Bob the Builder
and if you're being too bouncy,
your bedtime is nearer 7.30 than 8.
So in some ways, you will always be
six years old.
But in every way, you will always be
my littlest brother
and I'm thankful that your birth mother
chose to share you with us
twelve years ago.