This is one of those special mornings in a mother’s life. You know the one where you send your child off into the world for their first day of school. In the case of my fifteen year old son, we’ve had thirteen first days of school now.
Eighth Grade
Ninth Grade
Tenth Grade
I have loved every single one of these firsts as each is special in their own way. Today my boy woke-up before the sun to start his sophomore year, a first–he hasn’t been a 10th grader until today.
The fun part, he’s no longer at the bottom of the high school totem pole. And now, it’s getting super real for me. Reality is settling in. In three short years, E will be headed to college. Our conversations, as of late, are more and more about which colleges he’s considering for the career he wants to pursue. This boy has some serious goals and a clear vision of what he wants out of life.
In the meantime, you can bet, I’m savoring our summers and everything else in between. Childhood is far too fleeting for my liking. We are most definitely going to make these 3 years the best ever! Last Friday, I took my three loves to IHOP for a little brunch. I cherish the conversations which ignite during our dine-outs together. While we grubbed on pancakes eggs and bacon, Eric declared that after he graduates from High School, he’d like to travel to New Zealand with the family. We have always told our children that they can choose anywhere around the globe they’d like to travel to as their graduation gift. In my mind, exploring the world is a priceless present we can give our children, especially as we cut those apron strings and set them free. Free to head out on amazing, life changing adventures. Adventures that will impact how they think about life and the world in which they live. After high school, our children become adults and are ultimately free to make choices for themselves. No longer is there a need to seek out mom and dad’s approval. One major step into adulthood after high school is heading off to college, graduating with a bachelors degree and starting a career. All of which take an immense amount of time and dedication. And in my book, journeying to far off places is the ideal way to kick off those years of study and hard work. Thankfully we have 3 years to save our pennies so that we can make Eric’s dream a reality.
I’m certainly not ready for him to fly-the-coup quite yet, as I’m absolutely loving this stage. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to say that about teenagehood, but I can. Eric is my first teenager and he’s made it so very fun. Partly because he has a wicked sense of humor. Eric makes us laugh, daily. I must mention that his ability to make people laugh has come from his dad, not me. And it’s one quality I’m more than thankful he inherited. Humor is so key in life. Incredibly, Eric brings that to the table at just fifteen. It will payoff throughout his life. Everyone loves to laugh! Heck, people even seek out those who make that possible–that’s why we have comedy clubs! Humor can get us through just about anything in life.
Aside from my sides aching from laughing non-stop at all of Eric’s comedic acts, he stuns me with his love of technology and advanced level of understanding of how it works. I know, I know. Everyone loves technology. But Eric’s love runs deeper than deep. He lives to program, create games and spends hours on end working on projects. His future is bright. Very, very bright.
Although I’m so not a fan of having my children grow up, in what seems like the blink-of-an-eye, there is a silver lining. Watching my offspring pursuing the things they love and feel passionately about in life is beyond fulfilling. There’s nothing sweeter than watching them grow, discovering great things and developing into who they are as they find their place in this earthly place we call home.
