11 is bringing about a lot of changes in him. For starters, he is starting to stink. Not a manly BO stink, but more of a 11 year old stink... which smells a lot like salami that has been left out on the counter for the day.
He is angry most of the time. I think this is a stage that boys go through, but I don't know. I know how to deal with my 13 year old daughter's attitude because I wrote the book on adolescent attitudes for girls, but I am lost with my boy's stages.
He is a man trying to live in a boys body. I can only guess that he is frustrated that he is not in charge-because that is what men want right? To be in charge? That is what we raise our boys to be... in charge of their lives, in charge of a family, in charge of their success. I just wish he would calm down and not want to be in charge so quickly. He has many years ahead of him before he has to pay taxes and save for a child's college education.
My boy is very inquisitive. He can make me nuts in a day by all of the questions he asks. His dad is a champion question answerer, because he knows all of the answers to an 11 year old boy's questions. When my boy looks at me and says things like "Mom? If we had to evacuate and the roads were all backed up, how would we make it out alive?" or " Mom? Do you think we will one day move to Mars because it has resources that we can use here on earth like Iron and water?" I have no other choice but to look at him and say "Honestly, I have no idea." Because I have no idea... I have never thought of evacuation plans or living on Mars. My thinking is in the area of finding the right pair of jeans to fit and how to get to the mall using only back roads.
This has been a hard couple of months for my boy because he is missing his dad. He does not show it very often, but you can see it in his eyes from time to time. He is a sensitive boy who is always concerned with doing the right thing.. not just the right thing for himself but the right thing for his family. He is so much like his dad... so much.
As a birthday gift to my boy I decided to not even open the door of his bedroom this week. I have not complained about dirty boxer shorts on his bathroom floor once. I have fought the urge to ask him if he has brushed his teeth and I have controlled myself and not checked the levels of the shampoo bottle before and after his shower to see if he actually is using soap or just standing in the water for 45 minutes, and yesterday when I picked him up from baseball practice I didn't even complain about the smell, I just opened my window and thanked God for my boy. My boy who wants to be a man... a man just like his dad.
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