I'll have what he has

Over the past 12 years there have been many times I've looked at our son and thought "Yup, that apple fell off my tree". However, in the past year there has been an increase in the number of times he has done things that make me think he's from a completely different orchard. Perhaps the reason he seems so different than me at times is simply that I was never a preteen boy. He certainly makes it look a lot easier than being a preteen girl ever was! Now I can only speak for myself, but wasn't the whole point of being 13 to be an advertisement for worry and embarrassment?

My marching orders for my son's entry into middle school in fifth grade were summed up as follows: Make sure he has boxers--nobody wears tighty-whities at the middle school...done. The next order of business was the right socks--no show, low-cut...done (most of the time unless there was a laundry snafoo). THESE were the big issues to contend with?! It was fine to jump around like a lunatic, as long as he had the right socks and undies! I was even allowed to still hug him in public...jackpot!

I kept thinking he just hadn't "grown up" yet. I was bracing myself for what I'd been told was that inevitable day when he'd "change". Oh sure, I've learned in my rookie time as a mother to never throw the life preserver overboard because the sailing seems calm, but I am starting to think he has become what's to be...himself! I am overjoyed, and filled with envy. The day I watched him get ready for hat day at school by donning the jester hat he got at Wintuk, I thought "I wish I had half an ounce of his self-confidence". When he watched me freak out last week because none of his dress pants fit (less than an hour before we had to leave for his orchestra concert), as he calmly tried on a pair of my pants that I threw at him, I thought "I wish I had an ounce of his 'I don't give a damn!'" I was relieved to find him amused by my poor planning whether it be no dress shoes that fit-he wore mine to the December concert; or, no dress pants that fit-he wore mine to the March concert. He was not phased to learn that he'd had his shirt on backwards for a good portion of his day ("Not all day Mommy, just since second period.")

He surrounds himself with people who seem to accept/enjoy him for who he is. Can you imagine if we all figured that out before we were teenagers? I so enjoy watching him and his friends interact; but not for feelings of nostalgia as this is a whole new show from the one I recall. I can't remember a single facet of my being that was automatic...it was all so painfully (poorly) thought out. Again, maybe it's just me, or maybe it's a girl thing...or some cosmic combo of both.

There is a girl (who will be 10 in 13 days...the countdown is on the fridge) sitting across the room from me, and right now her giggle cracks us up. She dances around here as if nobody is watching. I am pretty sure that within the next few years she will be hurling apples at us, and they will be falling all over the place!