My little boy is a teenager!
Oh be still this momma’s heart. How in the world did that happen?
Of course I know how this happened. This is life. These are the years that fly by. And it is both exciting and terrifying at the same time.
The clock continues tick.
But for now, he is 13 and I marvel at the young man he is becoming. Thankfully he is polite and respectful and kind. Thankfully he has a huge heart. Thankfully he works hard in school. Thankfully he is a crazy funny goofball who makes us laugh.
And now he’s a teenager plus all those things.
I am also grateful for my day off from work, allowing me to be simply a mom. Not a working mom. Just Joe’s mom.
I wouldn’t trade my career choices for anything, but I am not going to lie. Sometimes a simple day off to allow me to do mom things is good for my soul. A day where I don’t juggle work and school schedules or pick-up times or meetings or conference calls. I can just be a mom. At home.
That was me today – a mom of a teenager. Nothing more, nothing less. I could drive Joe and his best friends to a pizza place to celebrate the big birthday. I could revel at their humor and song choices in the car. I could load up the house with birthday junk food and Gatorade and Dairy Queen cake. I could smile, knowing Joe has a good set of friends who are smart and funny and great kids.
Monday I will go back to being the working mom, the career mom … and juggle the schedule that will come with my travel to Atlanta. It’s not a bad thing, just different.
But today? It was a good day.
Happy 13th Birthday, Joe!