Tomorrow is a big day in my house. Our son is starting junior high school. For him, this means he gets a locker, changes classes instead of having 1 main teacher, and is one of the "big kids" in his school.
For me, it's a big deal as well. I am usually too caught up in the day to day stuff to spend a lot of time reflecting. But this is a biggie. I am watching my child mature in leaps and bounds, and see the glimmer of what he will be one day. Two years ago, I couldn't leave him alone for an hour. Last week he spent two half-days alone at home, taking care of a puppy that needed to be walked every two hours, fed repeatedly, and amused. He came through brilliantly.
I used to have to monitor all his food choices. The other day, he let me know that he thought the salad in the fridge might be bad -- because he was making a salad for lunch, unprompted. He has switched from soda to bottled water, and has asked us to ditch the junk food in the house.
He is starting to learn about current events, and his new favorite shows are the Daily Show and the Colbert Report. He even laughs in the right places. He is exploring the internet, but carefully.
His friendships are deeper, with more substance. He used to define a friend as anyone he spent any time with. Now he understands the difference between a casual acquaintance and a true friend. He has displayed impressive loyalty, and is learning to give people slack.
I can't wait to see what this year brings!
3 comments:
It's true --y'all do break him with regularity. But I see even that as evidence of maturity, since he has to both get the joke, and then take the teasing with good grace!
Funny - I was talking with Hubby on the way home from lunch Saturday, and saying that I hoped it would be a long time before he would stop letting us "break" him. There will come a time when he's too cool to laugh at our silliness, but I'm hoping for it to be a long long way off ...
Long after he thinks mom and dad are total LOSERS, he will still thing you all are cool.
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