Happy 14th birthday to the boy who now looks me in the eye at 5’9. I feel like I always say the same things about him but he is genuinely just the kindest, most loving, team player, hard-working, smartest, and funniest kind of kid. I had a few tears tonight watching him read his birthday cards out loud with that deep voice that still catches me off guard and reminds me that he’s more of a man now than my little boy.
It’s the strangest thing to look at your child and realize that your role in their life is so drastically different than it was when they were little. He still needs me, but in such a different way. We talk about sports, his friends, math class, and how to be a good person. I look forward to our nightly check-in before I head off to bed. I ask him every night if there’s anything I can do to help him. The answer is usually no, but I secretly live for the nights he asks me to wash a certain hoodie sweatshirt he forgot to do with his laundry or to go over a tough math problem together. It’s great when your kids are independent, but it always feels good to be needed.
14 is awesome and hard. He’s doing so many cool activities, has big thoughts on the world, a great sense of humor, and is just a cool person to spend time with. I can’t help but count how few years we have left with him at home though. How does any parent ever get right with their babies growing up? It breaks my heart all the time when I become aware that he’s starting high school soon and that the time is just slipping away. I think somehow the excitement for all he will do and experience over the next few years will help to balance the sadness that comes with missing the little guy he once was. Today I’m just thankful to be his mom and for a few more years to keep him in the nest.