I have a preteen again! My son turned 11 in 2021, his second pandemic birthday. This time, most of the adults around us were vaccinated, a lot of the kids too, and things seemed a little less scary, so he had a small party to celebrate. He had 6 friends over to play video games, eat lots of food, play in the street, and sleep on his floor.
He was so happy that his best friend, Milo, was able to come this time. Because of COVID, he only saw his best friend twice last year. It was so hard, but I was very proud of him for moving on and making the best of things. Overall, he has been able to do this and I’m so glad. I know that not all kids were adjusting quite as well. He’s even made some comments that he doesn’t remember much what things were like before COVID. That seems a little sad, but I know that a lot of kids are likely going to have that experience. It might make things a little easier, I suppose. They can stop resenting the inability to do things they were able to do before. We’ve all probably learned to do with a little less, and I can’t think that’s altogether a bad thing.
Daniel has been at a new school for a couple of months which is a relief to both of us. Homeschool was something I’m glad we tried, and even more glad we finished. He doesn’t like taking orders, but I really like giving them. He’s still not a very cooperative kid and has VERY strong ideas about how things should be done, and he is also still funny and sweet and getting better at noticing when other people are upset.
He’s still very noisy and active and sometimes rude, but I’m starting to see a little more maturity. His new school is great. It’s a very small community with a lot of focus on tolerance and kindness. He’s discovered that he likes ALL of the kids in his class, even the girls. This is surprising and a big relief! He used to say that he didn’t play with girls because they didn’t like playing the things he played and that generally they didn’t like him. I could see that, although there were a couple of girls over the years that he was able to make good connections with. At his old school though, he tended to be a little intense and rough, and most of the girls usually avoided him. The fact that he’s friends with all the kids in his class is a BIG positive sign of maturity. He has also made some younger friends, and even a younger friend with a pretty severe speech impediment. I love that he barely notices it. Mostly, he sees that this kid is nice and fun and they have a lot in common. He would never make fun of him, and he usually waits very patiently while he finishes speaking.
One of my favorite things about Daniel is that he plays so well with younger kids, even VERY tiny ones. They love him, and he is so good at doing just the right things with them. His younger cousins are a great example. He’ll push his 4 year old cousin around in a little plastic car for SO long, or push a ball across the floor, or do anything he wants to do……..very patiently.
He very easily does his homework and even seems to enjoy it sometimes. He looks forward to going to school every day.
He’s even more excited about wilderness school now too. He’s working on getting a knife certification and a saw certification. He spends hours carving in his free time at home and is getting better at building fires without using a lighter or a match. He takes a lot of pride in these accomplishments and looks forward to his weekly wilderness school days.
He’s still playing a lot of soccer although he seems a little less enthralled. I think it’s getting a little too competitive and lot less fun, although he does take a lot of pride in being able to teach kids at school how to play during their free time. He takes his ball with him to school most days.
He has now decided to trust Petrie completely and they hang out together often, snuggling and getting treats and talking. It’s so sweet and I love how gently and correctly he handles him. He even chose to take him to school when he had a turn to “show and share”. He took him around to meet all the kids and taught them how to give him a treat and ask him to talk.
I’m able to trust him to be on his own a little more now, and even though I’m working from home a lot and we still spend much of that time together, he’s managing to limit interruptions and avoid doing things he knows he shouldn’t do more.
He still eats just about anything and it seems like the amount has nearly doubled. I feel pretty sure that next year’s post will include something about a big growth spurt!
I love this sweet kid. Happy birthday, Daniel! Life is never dull with you. You challenge and delight me every day.
Author Info
No Comments