Thursday, April 19, 2012

Twelve Year Olds

It seems like wherever I go lately my mom friends are talking about one thing- twelve year olds. K-boy is my oldest, so this is my first experience having a creature of this sort in the house. Yes, I said creature. I love my son dearly, but overnight is seems he has morphed into someone familiar and yet mysterious to me. To hear my mom friends talk about their offspring of his age, he is not alone.

What is it about twelve that sends children into this odd journey into the unknown? K-boy can be described most accurately now not as a child, but as a half-grown man. He's nearly matched me in height, he shaves, and he's rapidly developing a funny, cynical view of life.

He's ultra sincere, passionate in his beliefs, and amazingly interesting to converse with.

On the negative side, he tends to think he already knows everything. Trust me... he doesn't. He tests us lately, staying up too long, sleeping late, and grumbling when asked to do chores.

Most humorously, I've got to find the humor in this, he experiences what I call 'teen moments'. The latest of these was last night, when he locked the keys in BadDad's car after his Jeet Kune Do lesson. He later sheepishly admitted that he was thinking about the book he is reading (Lord of the Rings) when he absentmindedly locked the car.

The list goes on though. Since he turned twelve back in the fall, K-boy has: put a stainless steel teakettle in the microwave, performed jumping-jacks in the living room with a bottle of A-1 sauce in his hands (with the expected results), and somehow overnight he's become obsessed with personal grooming...yet he still leaves his dirty socks on the floor. None of his mishaps were intentional, they were just side effects of his emerging teen brain.

He's full of surprises too. We've caught him taking it upon himself to change the channel if a show comes on that he feels is inappropriate for his two younger siblings. He also helps out unexpectedly sometimes. Just yesterday, I found him in the backyard, moving a huge pile of dirt that BadDad had slated for one of his own weekend projects. I saw K-boy out there and asked him why he was working so hard. He said, "Well, it helps me to think, and it seems to aggravate some people less if I think in the yard instead of doing it in the bathroom." This by the way, is word for word. We're hanging onto the first part of his quote.



This age is , I know, just a precursor to the teen years to come. As frustrating as certain moments can be, I treasure this time. Yes, he is half-grown, but if the glimpses that I see of the man he may become prove true, he will grow to be a man of worth. That is what I hope someday to see.

You're Invited to Party Here!

linking this post to Pour Your Heart Out





12 comments:

  1. I cannot stop laughing! My oldest just turned twelve last month and yes...that is how he is! LOL!

    I tried explaining this to a mom of little boys as she was horrified that I had to "separate" my two one day. I said, "he is still a child, yet he knows that he is turning into a man. He wants to do man things, yet he is subordinate to mom and dad. This is a tough position to be in."

    She being a former elementary teacher was certain that he needs mental help and that we are unable to help him as parents. I was rather offended and think we are doing fine as there are many others with the SAME PROBLEMS! :)

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    1. I'm glad you got a chuckle! It's such a relief to me that other mothers of twelve year olds see the same bizarre symptoms in their offspring as I do in mine. That's how I know he doesn't need mental help.LOL! Everything I've read about the adolescent brain says that this behavior is normal. It stands to reason that with all the changes their bodies undergo around this age, that their brains would be affected too.

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  2. I have a 13-year-old son - his birthday was just a couple of months ago - and this SO describes him! Well, he's not shaving! LOL For the most part he's a great kids...easy to teach, helpeful...but sometimes he gets way too sarcastic or takes over the TV! ;)

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    1. It's such a fun age! You really get to see the person that they're turning into!

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  3. Ohhh, I have a newly-12 daughter. She's not quite at that stage yet, but she's something!!

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    1. Just wait, it starts happening before you realize it.

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  4. Oh, this was sweet and fun to read! My oldest son is 7, so 12 is not too, too far away. I was just reading a blog written by a guy that said he remembers crying at 12 about his mom one day not being around anymore. So sweet, right? Your son seems like a good kid. I love that he changes the channel to protect his younger siblings' eyes. (Thanks for linking up with us over at #findingthefunny!)

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    1. You'll be amazed at how fast your son grows up. I look at my younger two now, and I remember when my oldest was their ages. Suddenly, he's so mature (well at least sometimes). Thanks for hosting finding the funny, I enjoyed it!

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  5. I have to admit that I'm a little afraid of these years!

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    1. I was too, but now that my oldest has arrived at twelve, I realize that there's a lot of good things that come with it.

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  6. Oh I have a 12 year old daughter and she pretty much drives me crazy on a regular basis. I never know which way her mood is going to swing.

    My son is coming up next so I am praying he is a little easier!

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    1. I'm lucky that my next one is still only eight. I did the math though, and at some point my three will all be teenagers at the same time. Yikes!

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