Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Hunter

There is a time when every parent looks at their child, and simply realizes that they are growing up before their eyes.

This past weekend, I sat at watched Hunter. REALLY watched him. I saw the changes in him that I wouldn't allow myself to see until that moment.

The strength he has physically (which way is the gun show) as well as mentally. This pre-teen is no longer my little peanut. He is no longer the baby faced boy that would snuggle up in my lap and ask stories and just "us" time.

He works so hard, to be a grown up to soon, and to stay a little boy. He is at the in between stage, where it seems to go either way depending on the day and his mood.

I saw the way he talked to Mr. Z, and how they "played" in a way I had never seen, competitive. The drive to achieve the goal, whether it was make the winning basket, or eating the most pancakes. They are great friends, that seems to keep out doing each other.

I can't even begin to talk about the food consumption, and how that has changed recently. Hunter always ate a lot, but now it is ever more. On Saturday he had 9 pancakes, 9!! And they were not small pancakes at all. He would have eaten more if I hadn't been worried about stomach issues later on. He could eat me out of house and home if I didn't watch him closely.

The growth spurts have changed too. No more is it a constant growth. Now we have plateaus, then jumping two sizes. Not even looking at the 10's and going right to 12's. But with that, comes the Fritz build. Skinny. Hunter is just like Hubby when it comes to that.

I blinked and he stopped reading level 1 books, and now is entranced with Eragon and sci-fi. He stopped playing with blocks, and now is all about sports and video games.

No more is my little guy little. Now more than ever I have to work hard to treat him the age he is, as hard as that can be. We are entering new territory, and I am nervous and excited to see who he turns into. Maybe a young man who likes homework?? Yeah right.

But don't think for a second that I won't fight for every hug, kiss and snuggle. The few that I get I cherish. I know the time is coming where he will tower over me, and maybe then he will not be embarrassed to hug me again. I can't wait for that time.

2 comments:

Kelly said...

Hello, I found your blog from Dust Bunny Hostage and your post hit me at just the right time. I have a daughter who will turn two in a couple of weeks and going through her clothes the other day, I couldn't believe how much she's grown. It made me a little sad to think she was never going to be that size again. Sniff!

And as for boys, I can remember seeing my brother laying on the sofa when he was about 14 and I swear, I could SEE him growing. He ate everything that wasn't nailed down, too!

Melody said...

I can relate to this completely, especially with my older child.

I don't know if boys are different than girls but I know that my sixteen year old rarely hugs or kisses his mom anymore and the homework. I think they actually go in the opposite direction and the food consumption only increases. But I think the saddest is part is that I keep thinking in only 1.5 years he is going to graduate and leave home and make a new life for himself.

I think I will be a blubbering idiot when that occurs.

Now that I know, I try to take a moment here and there and really appreciate the younger children and the stages they are in because they won't be in them forever.