I have a teenager. A 13 year-old.
What in the WHAT just happened?!?!?!??!
I am seriously having the hardest time wrapping my head around this. Not that this is “brand new information“…I mean, they turn 1, then 2, then 3….and so on and so forth. I have personally experienced 37 birthdays so far, so I get the idea of how this works. 🙂
It just….goes so fast! I realized the other day that Ethan is going into 7th grade this year, which means we have exactly 6 more school years with him home. 6 years!! That’s it.
We are officially over the 2/3 way mark to 18.
I do love seeing each different stage, and I gotta be honest, 13 is WAY easier so far than 3 (case in point: it’s 8:30 a.m. and he is still sleeping AND he didn’t wake me up once all night). I’m not sure that I would actually turn back the hands of time, if I could. (Well, maybe just like, temporarily, for old time’s sake, to see them little again.)
I don’t know. I love the independent kiddos they are becoming, and it’s so fun seeing them grow into real young adults! It’s awesome having real conversations with them that don’t involve people like Mickey Mouse or Thomas the Train. 🙂 And of course, DAILY LIFE is just 1,000 times easier when people can dress themselves, feed themselves, and bonus- use the toilet!! hahaha!!
It still makes me sad, though. I am not the best with change, and I have a very nostalgic type personality. I get sad when things end and I get misty eyed sometimes remembering special moments, vacations, memories, etc.
So, every year on Ethan’s birthday I have mixed emotions, especially since he is the older of the two. He’s always the first one to break into “new age territory”. And, he was my first baby! He’ll always be the milestone marker of the family.
I can’t wait to see who the boys ultimately become. Where will they go to school? What will they study? Who will they marry?! Where will they live? What will their hobbies be as adults? I pray they will be HAPPY. And kind. And good people!
But I, along with probably every other mother in the world, wish I could just slow things down a little bit…. stretch it out……linger….. 🙂
Unfortunately, time marches to a pretty steady drum beat, so I don’t think that’s in the cards. So, I will continue to make every effort to BE PRESENT, enjoy the time we have, preserve and cherish the memories (i.e. take a million photos), and do my best to step back and remember that this was all part of the plan all along. You have the baby, then they grow up, and then they eventually are ready to (hopefully) face the world on their own. (Eek!! 😬)
Happy Birthday, Ethan!! You are truly one of a kind, so intricate, unique and special.
Daily Gratitude:
I am grateful for Ethan. ❤
GRATEFUL KAE 
Happy Birthday Ethan!!! How awesome!!! I’m right behind you – A is 13 in February :-O
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Thanks! I didn’t realize A’s age! Woo hoo you get a teenager soon too, then! 😉
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I got a little teary-eyed reading your post, but I 100% agree with you – 13 is better than 3! Happy birthday Ethan!
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Happy Birthday to Ethan! Such a handsome little guy and I sure see the resemblance between you 2! I am on the other end of the parenting spectrum as you know! I appreciated your story about the birthday stroller run gone wrong! Ha! It’s good that we can laugh about these things after they are behind us, though! Right now I do not get sad when our boys get another year or month older. I’m like – yay, marching towards an age that I will enjoy more! I think 4 and older will be a more enjoyable stage of parenting for us. There are aspects I like of the baby and toddler phase, but they are also so demanding – especially for the mom if you BF like I have with both boys… But I imagine I’ll get to a stage where I will want time to slow down! We had friends over last night who have boys who are 3 and 5 – they told us ‘hang in there, it gets so much better.’ But that seems really far off for us! But I know even in 1-2 years things will be easier because Paul will be even more independent. He still needs/wants us to dress him and we have to help w/ the bathroom. So he’s made strides but is still in a pretty demanding stage!
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I’m totally with you… nostalgic when things end especially at each of kids milestones. they grow so fast! days could feel long sometimes but years fly so fast. I often need to remind myself when they are fighting with each other or just annoying, or the amount of noise there is in the house when both of them are present, that this is just a stage we are living, it will pass sooner than I realize, so just enjoy it.
happy birthday Ethan!
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Beautifully written and so very true. One day they present you with a little one of their own and you can do it all over again. The next time around is way easier then the first time. Enjoy the moment for now❣️🥰😘
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