We all say it. Parents just can’t believe how the time slips away, and our babies stop being babies.
I have a teen and a pre-teen and I still sometimes catch myself thinking about how to get childcare for an event or wondering if I need to start their laundry even though they do their own now! My littlest baby turned 12 last week, and it feels surreal. Twelve is a big milestone! No more ordering from kids menus, no more free admission anywhere, no more kids shoes sizes and prices (for mine at least!), and a lot of times no more kid-like behavior. This is true for my Daniel in a lot of ways. He doesn’t want to watch any movies that are rated G or even PG. He wants to be able to go places without me, take on more responsibilities and privileges, not be told what to do. He’s not quite as snuggly as he used to be, and he is definitely too large to carry or hold in my lap. However, he does still want hugs, and wants me to read to him, and sing him a song when I tuck him in at night. He begs for all of us to read a story together like we used to, and he still likes to play with Legos. He is still EXTREMELY chatty and wants to tell me everything about everything every day. He still doesn’t care much about his clothes, although his hair is as important as it always has been. He still loves to play games…..anything with a ball, and recently decided to learn to play sand volleyball on our beach vacation. He got to celebrate this birthday on an island in the Caribbean this year. He was a little disappointed that it wasn’t the usual kind of birthday celebration, but then he embraced it, because it meant he got to be with his extended family AND do all the “extras” that he’d been hoping to do. He got pulled behind a boat on a tube for the first time. He got to participate in an escape room. He got to make everyone play putt-putt golf with him AND go to a water park.
His favorite interests right now are soccer, making things out of leather, his knife collection, and playing games on his computer. He purchased the computer himself and would like to be playing on it a lot more than he is allowed. He got a phone for his birthday. It’s not a smart phone, but still a great tool for communication, so he is now spending a significant amount of time texting and talking to his friends and family. This kid is still tireless and strong and adventurous and stubborn. He’s an entrepreneur, although his summer business making breakfast tacos for neighbors stressed him out so much that he decided not to do that again. He is also still so sweet when he wants to be. We watched Groundhog Day recently and he got so emotional about the homeless man who dies in the movie. He’ll think about it sometimes still and burst into tears about the unfairness of it. He recently realized that our little parrot, Petrie, is getting old and we may not have a lot of time left with him. There were a lot of tears after that realization, followed by a very urgent need to make plans. He decided that the birdie should have more time everyday doing things he enjoys. He made a schedule so that everyone in the family can participate and take a shift giving Petrie a great life. He has been sticking to his schedule and those two are closer than ever. I often find them snuggling on the couch or playing Petrie’s favorite puzzle game. He has a lot of determination, and I have no doubt he will do whatever he decides he wants to do.
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