Young Love

It's happening.  That 13 year old boy I told you all about a couple of weeks ago - I think he's in lurve.  I think he's growing up as I look at him.  Right before my eyes.  And I'm not quite ready!

The first signs were easy to spot.  He spoke her name a few times, told me he had a new friend who catches the bus to school.  And then last week, he asked if he could catch the early bus to school?  Ummmm, yeh, why?  "Well, um, well, Jane* (I shall not completely embarrass him, although I would be stunned if he even knew I wrote a blog!) texted me and asked if I would catch the early bus".  Ok, but why?  "Um, well, she has some printing to do at school, so I'll just go with her".  Took me all my time not to ask a million questions, but I did ask one - Is Jane your girlfriend?

"Well, sort of, yeh".

Hmmmm..........new territory.  I let him catch the bus early, because later that evening we had another conversation, where I asked for more details.  Like, what does "sort of" mean?  Well, it turns out sort of means that he asked her out, she said yes, then a few days later she said she needed to focus on her schoolwork not a boyfriend.  I LIKE THIS GIRL!!!!  My husband read that as - her parents told her she was too young to have a boyfriend, and needs to focus on her school work!  If this is accurate - I like this girl's parents!

I can tell he is rather smitten with this very smart young lady.  He caught the early bus every day, got off at her stop, waited for her, and then waited for the next bus.  He posted a photo of the two of them to his Facebook page one morning - in which I commented he needed to open his eyes, and he said the sun got in the way.  Phew, still signs he hasn't completely grown up!  

As much as I am loving watching my little boy blossom in to a young man, it frightens me.  Although we have a REALLY honest and very open Mother/Son relationship, I know what lies ahead of him.  I know there are going to be a million hurdles before he gets to man-hood, and I know that it is going to be quite a road to travel.  But I want to hold his hand.  I re-assure him (probably too often) that whatever he has ahead of him, whatever he does - his parents have already been there.  This shocked him the first time I told him, and I could tell he didn't believe me.  But last week, he came home with the news that strangely, there had been a big shift amongst the kids at school, and all of a sudden, he wasn't being picked on.  He has made new friends.  It was then that I asked him if he now believed me?  Only a couple of months ago, when the kids at school were really pushing his buttons and being general pains in the proverbial, I told him it wouldn't be forever.  And it seems he now believes me.  The tide has changed.

How much longer do I have with this little boy who likes to talk?  Who believes what his Mother says?  Who still comes in the door at the end of the day and tells me all about his day and every last little detail about everything?  I'm crossing everything I have that he will always be this way, and that I just "lucked in" with this teenage boy.

Is it always this strange to have your first child enter teenage years?