What a Difference 6 Months Makes

I amused myself by going back and reading my past blog posts this evening.  I'm mortified by the time lapses.  Not the sign of a dedicated and successful writer, that's for sure!  Does that mean my experiment failed?

Well, no matter, I'm back again.  As I look back to my last post, over 6 months ago, it amazes me what a shift our family life has taken.  In December 2009 I was caught up between middle school drama and elementary delight.  My kids were just that --- kids --- for all my comments about the teen and preteen.

Fast forward six months and our house feels very different.  The 8 year old is the sole remaining elementary kid.  Someone said to me the other day, "THIS is the baby?"  Yes, this is my baby - eagerly looking forward to being more independent and walking home with her friends instead of her brother (with strict orders not to put on the Clexton Show).

My son is most definitely a Tween now.  On the verge of middle school he is in that quagmire where his emotions and his hormones run from young man to little boy and it's often hard to keep up.  My running worry is that one of us is not going to make it to his 12th birthday.  Odds are even right now as to who that "one" is going to be!

Probably most dramatically different is my 14 year old.  For all that we have called her 13 going on 40 and so on, she was really still just a mature child until just recently.  Suddenly, she is a young woman.  Until an ankle injury sidelined her, her summer plans were consumed with readying herself for high school sports through camps.  Her humor is quite adult, her observations are witty and sarcastic, her eyes seem to see and understand more.

It doesn't help that I came across pictures like the one below, taken when I was right around her age.  And it brings back memories of what I was up to at that age.  Lord, have mercy!

Just the other day I watched her to climb into a car of kids, with a seventeen year old at the wheel.  It really startled me and stayed with me all day.  Thankfully, this occurred at 6:45am and the drive was to be roughly six blocks, so I knew the potential for shenanigans was minimal.

It took me a few days, but I have made my peace with that moment.  Just in time came the following tidbit to knock me off my feet:

"Mom, you know I'm eligible to start driver's training in February, right?"

Ouch.