Zeke is a Teenager!

 

    Even though he outgrew me awhile ago, and now is about 4 inches taller than me, the fact that Zeke is a teenager is still astounding to me.   He has kept his wonder, cheer, curiosity, empathy, creativity, and drive all while aging into a teenager.   There is nothing he doesn't want to do, except ever be bored, because he hates that.   His brain is going 24/7, so he's usually around us asking questions a large number of those hours...and we may or may not have to cut off those questions from time to time.  His curiosity has led him to join choir, drama, indoor soccer, continue outdoor soccer, start drum lessons, join honor band, and get invited to the Mathletics team.  While he likes to keep busy, his joy and kindness remain his strongest attributes.  I had a teacher pull me aside and ask "how do you raise such a kind child?  I have a toddler and will take any tips you have!"  I told her, while I'd like to take all the credit....he really did come out that way.

    During this winter we all got sick with quite a few bugs, Zeke had one in particular that left him extra exhausted.  He was fine except for being lower energy and very subdued...and it had us all very concerned for him.   We all kept asking him if he was ok and he'd say "yeah...I'm just tired" and while we believed him....we weren't *quite* sure... so we'd ask him again...or his sister would ask him, or we'd encourage him that if there was anything he needed to talk about we'd be here for him.  Remember, this is the same guy who hates being bored and if he hasn't found something to do, you can usually hear him entertaining himself by doing something rather obnoxiously noisy.  He was just....sitting around, and none of us were ok with it.   Tyler and I were talking about if we had heard of anything that had happened, if someone had hurt his feelings, or if he was feeling discouraged about something; because never mind that he had had a fever a couple days before and says he is tired, there must be something SERIOUSLY wrong with him because he was just....laying around with a blanket, and seemed a bit melancholy to us.  This literally lasted MAYBE two days and then he was back to his busy, cheerful, happy self and our household went back to normal.   It revealed to me how much his steady joy deeply impacts our family, and how much we may sometimes take him for granted.

        Zeke does get down...literally at the end of every holiday and birthday he is quite sad.  I can't think of a single one where I go to tuck him in at the end of the night where he doesn't say "I don't want it to end".  EVERY.  SINGLE. TIME.   Things that I assume he will be sad about he gets over so quickly, or doesn't really show it much at all.  But a fun, exciting day being OVER?  Well, that's the absolute worst. 

        Zeke's best friend remains Chupacabra...but his love for dogs runs very deep.   I love it.  He has a deep care for all living things, and got upset with me when he saw me flush a stink bug down the toilet instead of tossing it outside, and made me promise to take the time to release them from here on out.  He loves being outside, and recently bought himself a plant to take care of, because then he could bring a little bit of outside into his room.  He feels deeply and it's revealed through his love of nature and I think it's lovely.   

     Everyone I meet who has met Zeke before meeting me, insist I know what a delightful young man he is, and believe me, we know.   My only hope is that he remains being confident in being himself and continue to shine his kindness and joy to others. 

And then she was 15

       Genevieve has had a year of being busy....and probably getting busier.  As someone who tries to raise my kids focusing on the person they are and not on their accomplishments....she sure is trying to accomplish a lot.   Finishing up middle school she worked on getting good grades, improving her cello skills by starting lessons, and putting herself into her art.   All decent things, I'll give her that, but she is so much more than her accomplishments.  Her grades can fluctuate, her passion for music is great, but also could fade, all creativity I think comes in waves...but who Genevieve is to her core, is just lovely.

She is charming, she's distracted, she is passionate, she is funny, she is quirky, she's nervous, she's confident, she's smart, she's contemplative, she's expressive, she's loyal, she's inquisitive, and she's unique.

    Having a confident teenage girl is kind of....crazy.  On one hand, it's precisely what you hope for when raising a teenage girl....on the other hand...well, she's a confident teenage girl...I feel like if you're a parent you probably know what that implies.   Where I love seeing her confidence shine the most is the same place I've always loved seeing it in her... in her self-assuredness in whatever quirky thing she's currently interested in.   She doesn't care if other kids think dragons are cool, she knows they are, and sure as heck won't be stopped from the opportunity to meet her favorite author for her favorite dragon book series.  She doesn't care if all the kids are listening to Olivia Rodrigo, or Taylor Swift, or KPop...she will be listening to Aurora loudly on repeat till your ears bleed.   She doesn't care if everyone is going to watch scary movies or ride thrilling rides....she will NOPE that so quick without a single thought towards being persuaded to do otherwise because she won't do what she doesn't want to.  That really applies to anything she doesn't want to do....no amount of peer pressure or persuasion works on this girl...and while it can be troublesome with a family, I kind of love that about her. 

    This worked out even better when leaving middle school behind and stepping into high school.   While high school has revealed areas of needed growth and concentration with trying to navigate so many responsibilities, it has also been a place she has been able to find her people, share her passions, and try new things.   She has had some organizational troubles, and while these existed in middle school, in high school she has really grown into owning her weaknesses and mistakes (sometimes, but hey! that's huge with a teenage girl!) and working on improvements.  She has acknowledged when she may have bitten off more than she can chew.  Also, she has been open to trying new things to help her grow in these areas.   Sometimes I forget it's about the process, and we are very lucky to have this girl who is open to suggestions (again, sometimes) from her parents.   Along this same thought process, she has repeatedly acknowledged that she likes us, and feels safe to talk about things with us.    I don't always think we really know what we are doing with parenting sometimes, but when she tells us this, it feels like we must be doing something alright, because having your teen trust you is pretty huge.  She has also done really well picking up and balancing so many new responsibilities, she walks a dog for extra cash, she joined clubs, she has been trying to organize her things, she has created places for her to relax and study, overall just showing a lot of initiation.

    

    High school is a pretty big change for anyone, but on top of that we moved.  While she was thrilled and excited at the idea of moving, and loved the house we were moving to, the idea of leaving the home she had spent her entire life in was rather daunting.  For a girl who loves routine, comforting places, and her own room as a safe place to decompress, she had a lot of changes to adjust to.  She acknowledged the change, the pain and struggle and what she would need to help her adjust and then, got it done.   I know a lot of people might look at it as a simple thing, but changing up her world that much, and being able to process the emotions she was feeling, feel them and go forward is pretty impressive for this young lady. 

   

 So this year of launching into her high school years, as she grows more independent, as she grows more into herself and discovers more of who she is and who she wants to be, I hope to always see her continue to be her authentic, wonderful self.  May she hold her chin up, keep finding new adventures...and always enjoy her pickle juice.