I’ll Grow Up to be a Real Boy

Yesterday this baby

became a teenager. It was my son’s thirteenth birthday.

This boy has been a joy. He has taught me so much about life. It should have been the other way around, but I am certain that his place on this Earth has been to make me grow.

He has been a terrible sleeper from the day he was born – he simply doesn’t need sleep. He is rarely tired and I have only seen him yawn half a dozen times in his whole life. I had always been a worrier when I was supposed to be sleeping. I would turn over insignificant incidents in my mind, rather than fall asleep. Since this boy was born I have learnt how to fall asleep without doing that. 

He has been able to hold a conversation since about fourteen months of age. I think that he had a lot of extra language input because he did not sleep, his vocabulary is vast. Even though he didn’t sleep he spent many hours laying in the bed with me, just us chatting (my part was usually ‘go to sleep now’). He talks to people openly and honestly. He doesn’t have facades, he is who he is. He makes people feel accepted and comfortable as soon as he meets them. He has a wicked sense of humour and laughs freely and easily – including laughing at himself. He shows his emotions freely.

He has taught me about patience and integrity. He will voluntarily spend many hours with his young cousins without once showing frustration. I have never seen him be aggressive to another person. When he was about five I watched another child be mean to him. I called him to me to tell him to stay away from that mean boy. He said to me, “He may have had a difficult life, Mum. He may not know how to be kind. I’ll be OK.” His science teacher recently told me that there is one boy who is bullied in the class. My son stands between this boy and the bullies and says, “That’s enough, leave him alone now.” I’d like to think that I could be that person who stands up, but I don’t know if I could follow through when the situation arose.

I don’t worry about this little guy too much. Whatever happens I am certain that he will find his place in the world as he becomes an adult. He is bright, articulate and funny. He has respect and integrity. He has an old soul. He’s sure to find happiness.

Happy birthday, dude.

A song I loved, released the year that my son was born. Top ten material.

PS This will be my last post for a while. Tomorrow I am going on a bus trip along the Queensland coast with 130 teenagers. I stupidly bravely volunteered to be the helper parent on my daughter’s music tour. (NOT band camp, never call it band camp!). I have already packed the panadol. Wish me luck – may the force be with me.