Life at the Academy

Am I still allowed to call him my baby boy?  He turned 11 today and is proudly claiming himself to be a tween.  I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or bad thing.  I do know that it’s a little easier to accept my 2nd born turning 11 than it was my first.  What seems really odd is that I can’t figure out where the past 4 years or so have gone.  How did he get from being the cute little 7 year old to the big boy he is now?  I can’t quite call him a young man yet because he still looks like a kid – still small, the cute face that younger kids have, the cute little booty, you know what I mean.  But the future is looking me in the eye when I glance at Doodles who is only 2 1/2 years older than he is.  And I mean glancing me in the eye because she is nearly as tall as I am.  There seems to be a huge difference between the two of them and it saddens me to think that in a couple of years, he won’t look like the cute little boy.  He’ll take on a new body of a gangly teenage boy.  He might even start to get body hair.  Eww.  And undoubtedly, his behavior and attitude will change with him as he grows, tests limits, and learns how to be an adult.  So, I’m going to savor these childhood days when he wakes up before me and comes to snuggle with me in my bed.  I’m going to appreciate all the times he tells me how much he loves me with no shame or embarrassment about saying it.  I’m going to get on the floor and play Bionicles or Playmobil with him.  I’m going to enjoy the time in everyway I can because I know in the not too distant future, those days will fewer and far between.  And I’m going to come back and read this post every so often to remind myself because it’s so easy to get caught up in the things that don’t matter.

Happy Birthday Buster.