Teenager

You just turned 13.  Your dad and I didn't like 12, I'm hoping 13 is better. Twelve was testing your boundaries constantly, saying annoying things, starting to smell, getting acne, and thinking you knew everything.

You weigh 87 lbs and are 59 and 3/4 inches tall, just a hair shorter than me, your mom.  You wear mostly shorts and hoodies and rarely comb your hair. You are public schooled from home and one day you are ready to go back to "real" school and other days you like getting done at noon and not having to wear a uniform. You sit too much at the computer and thanks to COVID, a move to Alabama, and kids not really playing outside anymore, you are mostly a loner.  This year has been a bummer on many levels but you are so welcome to change and opportunity and you continue to see the brighter side of things.  You are so chill you don't even seem to mind there is no sleepovers, birthday parties, or otherwise, just us.  You asked for a new pair of shoes, a pedicure, sushi, ice cream, and a cake and got it all. 

You love the scout troop you are in, your dad as the leader, who always says how differently you behave when you aren't around me.  You talk a lot about what you want to do as a career when you grow up and you waver from one thing to the next, mostly concerned about how much money it will make or how hard school will be.  You doubt your abilities at times, but you know you are super awesome at math and you think you suck at English.  You love having conversations about religion, beliefs, how things work or came to be, and you still ask questions all the time about everything. You still sometimes call me mommy, mostly mom, and every once in awhile I get a "mother."   

We took a walk today and we talked about your goals for age 13. You decided that you want to go to church more, exercise more to get bigger, and that you want to achieve Life Scout before you turn 14.

You are a super great kid. Even if you do drive me bat-shit time to time. I love you, even though I don't like you sometimes. And I really hope one day you go back to the stage of life where you look up to your parents and know they are just looking out for your best interests, and not just trying to embarrass you or make your life a living hell. I hope we really cherish those times because one day your dad and my minds will start to deteriorate and you actually WILL know more than us and we will have to listen to your advice. 

Love you G man. More than you'll ever know. Happy Birthday.