Growing Pains...

Tate is on the countdown to the BIG Birthday...12 years old...WHAT??????

2 1/2 more weeks and our oldest child will be 12...finishing up Sixth grade this week and moving onto the Middle School. And I would love to say it's all sunshine and roses, but my soon to be 12 year old, has taken on the dreadful attitude of a soon to be teenager...and if you ask me a year too soon...

One minute he is happy as a clam, your best pal, having enjoyable conversation...making you laugh...the next minute, totally pissed off, giving you the cold shoulder, thinks your totally lame, has totally shutdown and on the verge of a meltdown. Huh??? I thought I wouldn't be dealing with this...I don't have girls..

For whatever reason...hormones, his parents are lame or he is just having a bad day and needs more sleep...I'm about done...unfortunately I think it just started...I have told him that I don't like this Tate and want the other Tate back!!! That will usually get a smile out of him...but sometimes even that is a stretch....growing pains....

Tate is SUPER social and loves to hang out with his buddies and of course "the girls". The girls and girlfriends have been a BIG part of Tate's life all year. His teacher told me I need to watch him because the girls won't leave him alone. One girl in particular has been a thorn in my side all year...telling Tate one minute she likes him and the next not so much...or liking his friends instead...leading Tate on a roller coaster, and although it doesn't seem to affect Tate's self worth...it sure makes this mom mad. Well, finally after months and months of this...Tate has moved on and is liking this darling girl...super cute and she has liked Tate for years. Well, last week Tate decided to play a bit of revenge on the other girl, telling her he liked her again and breaking up with the other one...not okay!!!! When I found out I was mad...I told him to go to school and fix it...I stewed all day about it...mad as mad could be...my boy wasn't going to treat girls like that and he wasn't going to hurt the girl that really liked him...not okay...ya, I was over the top that day, but my boys aren't going to be so rude, hurtful and careless with a girls feelings. He came home from school and we spent the rest of the afternoon talking about what had happened and why it was not okay. Then Tate apologized to both girls and fixed it with the one...and they are back to liking each other and the other girl that believes she can play Tate...got a taste of her own medicine and is sitting there wondering why she didn't treat him better.....growing pains...these little people trying to learn these things can be painful, but lessons they need to learn...and hopefully we don't have this happen again.

Talk about taking a shot to your ego...I consider myself to be a pretty happening mom...if I could rate myself...I think I would be pretty high on the coolness factor...well, Tate took right care of that. A couple of weeks ago Tate's grade went on a field trip to In N Out burger and then to Hill Air Force Base. Tate asked me to come, I was so flattered that he wanted me to come. After realizing that it would probably be my
last opportunity with my oldest child and recognizing that I was almost certain I had never been on a field trip with him I agreed to go. We load on the bus and as I go to sit on the bench with Tate and his buddy, he looks at me like...you are not going to sit here and totally embarrass me...oh yes I did...he wanted me to go sit up front and away from him...but I told him he wanted me to come and I was going to be him...that's why I came...

Talk about taking a hit on your ego and coolness factor!!! I am pretty certain Tate survived the embarrassment and hopefully it wasn't as bad as he made it seem...and I hope he enjoyed my company....but you never know with him these day...

Serious growing pains....someone tell me when they stop?????