But now, my oldest is in high school. And apparently wants his own life.
Back story, one of our closest friends has a son our son's age. And, although they moved a while ago, we have (and the boys have) always been close friends, spending NYE and other evenings together. But, this year, the 15-year-old decided he has other plans.
A few days ago, he asked if he could go to a party. At first, I said no. I am not ready to unleash him into the wild of NYE, I didn't want to figure out how to get him there and home, and his friend was going to be at our house. So, I told him no, we already had plans.
His response: "But those weren't my plans."
This got me thinking. Yes, it's true, he's getting older and has started making his own decisions. And I suppose I have to let him, even though I think I do a much better job. I mean, I would've chosen his friend over the party, obviously. But OK. I get that he doesn't see this friend as often as he sees his other friends and I can kinda-sorta see why he'd want to go to this party. But, we had plans. And he broke them. And when I had to tell my friend, she was rightfully annoyed that, two days before the holiday, her son had to make other plans.
In the end, it all worked out. Her son had been invited to several parties, so switching gears was easier than we'd thought. But she had mentioned to me that it's the end of an era. And I guess I'm sad about that.
2020 is just around the corner. This coming year, my son will be 16. He'll be getting his learner's permit and probably getting a job and a girlfriend and we'll see him less and less. And, even though he refuses to boil his own damn water for pasta (he once said "never mind" when he asked for pasta and I asked him to get the water going), he is going to start doing things for himself.
Mark my words.
I don't really do the resolutions thing. Mine have always been too wide-reaching (e.g. "be better") and I never ever stick to them (apparently, "better" is just too hard to achieve). But this year, I resolve to let my son grow up. He's going to be leaving my house in 3 years; it's time he learns some real independence. Not the "I wanna do what I wanna do" kind of independence, but the "I can survive outside of my mother's house" kind of independence. So, he's going to:
- Do his own laundry (actually, he already does that)
- Change his sheets
- Boil his own damn water for pasta if he wants pasta
- Clean. his. own. bathroom!
Now that I think about it, it's going to be a great year for me. Not for him, for sure, but hey, we can't have everything.
Happy New Year to me (and all of you, of course)!
