In a predictable but unwanted turn of events, Justice had another birthday. He officially turned 12 today whether I was ready or not. Funny how that works. When your kids are small, you anticipate the milestones that will bring them and us more freedom, but there is always a bittersweet side to that growth. I am not ready for Justice to grow up, but it looks like it's happening right under my nose whether I'm ready or not. I don't want him to grow up because I don't want the hassle that comes with that growth. The hormones, the girls, and the moodiness. The struggles over R-rated movies and suggestive music. The kids in his circle that will inevitably introduce him to things I wish they wouldn't have. The "WHY" age. "Why can't I sleep over at so and so's house?" "Why can't I go see (insert bad movie here)?" I prefer the simplistic routine of childhood, when all that matters is spongebob and whether they've brushed their teeth or not. These days I know he's brushing his teeth because the girls are breathing down his neck and he (gasp!) suddenly cares about his hygiene. And he wants to grow his hair. Why? Because the girls in his social circle said it would be cute. Girls with opinions that matter.
Sigh. It's all downhill from here.
Twelve is the magic year you no longer get a delightful children's birthday party in the Mack house. In the future there will be sleepovers with pizza and stinky boys, but no more kiddie parties. Justice took this news pretty well. It turns out he's outgrown kiddie parties anyway, much to my chagrin.
We sort of stretched his birthday out over the course of a few days since he was out of school the day before his birthday. We went to lunch at his favorite Mexican food restaurant. It just happened to be all-you-can-eat enchilada's. Cheese enchilada's smothered in cheese sauce are his favorite. He ate FIVE, and that was after singlehandedly eating two baskets of chips.
Plate number two.
Oh, I forgot to mention he had soccer practice 30 minutes after we left the restaurant. Fortunately and very surprisingly, he did not see the enchiladas again that day.
Jack is a taco-man.
Bo is a beans and rice kinda guy.
Justice got a cell phone for his birthday. We went back and forth on this subject for a long time, and decided we would give him a shot. He has treated his iPad really well and has been responsible with it. I have been watching his texting and after some initial rule violations, he is learning how to be a responsible sociable person. AND, we do not have a house phone. Justice is old enough to stay home by himself or with Jack now and we can't do that unless he has a way to communicate with us or the authorities in case of an emergency.
Of course, he immediately flooded our photo stream with ridiculous selfies.
We also got him a karaoke machine. The pictures speak for themselves.
And we had cupcakes. I have not mentioned that I caught the plague from the baby. I did indeed. A horrible case of it. I have been sick for a week, and I do mean sick. Like in bed not wanting to move sick. Thank you little germy baby for sharing your plague of death. I mention that because I only baked cupcakes this year rather than an awesome cake, and he was lucky to get them from the condition I was in. He asked for his school colors, so that is what he got.
Happy Birthday you little turd. I love you dearly.
<3
No comments:
Post a Comment