Cal-ito

We have a teenager on our hands in the Peterson household. I can't believe how quickly it went even though I feel like I knew from the beginning that time was not on my side. When I was pregnant with Cal I remember a friend asking if I was ready for a baby. I vividly remember my thought process: I was ready for a baby...but I was not ready to have a 10 year old in 10 years. When he turned 10 that conversation played repeatedly in my head. And now the dang kid went and turned 13 on me.

I also knew Cal was going to be an only child for a while. Even before Kirt decided to go to law school and we were presented with other biological delays, I knew that was the way our family was destined to be. I brought a tiny Cal to visit a friend with a new baby and she was already talking about when they wanted to have their next, how important the age difference should be, and the intricacies of sibling dynamics. I felt nothing of the sort. It's so interesting to look back now and recall that intuition. Not knowing what was going to happen, but knowing that it would happen how it was supposed to.

And now here we are, Cal is a great big brother to 2 much younger siblings. He is kind and patient when he needs to be, but can also awaken Owen's competitiveness and tease Tessa like any older brother should. Homeboy also knows how to work the manipulation with those two to get what he wants. I just pray that he uses those talents for good in the future!

This teenage business is interesting for a parent. It's intriguing, heart-breaking, inspiring and hilarious all at the same time. Of course, times are different than they were a few years ago. My parents knew all my friends because they had to call our house line and I had to have my conversations within cord-range of the phone on the wall. Now I have to snoop through his phone and needle him about every name and text I see. (Don't worry, he loves it.) I embarrass him to death when I pick him up from school and ask him incessant questions in front of his friends. (I take my duties as a mother very seriously and embarrassment is high on the list. Character building, you know?)

The independence is a struggle for me. He went to the mall for the first time with friends a few weeks ago and I was a nervous wreck. We spent the entire ride there going over rules and possible situations and mom-sayings like 'remember who you are and what you stand for'. The fact that one of the mom's was staying at the mall (but out of sight range) and that they were only staying for an hour and a half should have brought some solace, but I could just feel my baby growing up before my eyes. There's plenty of voice cracking going on and we're making our first orthodontist appointment soon. I'll tell you another thing, sharing your iTunes account with a 13 year old is an experience in itself!

Another sign of this kid growing up is the lack of pictures. I poured over my pics to find the only ones of him were usually forced and with someone else. The other problem I had was anything more than 3 months old looked like an old picture. I thought babies grew quickly, but he is really changing and growing into a handsome guy. But before we all decide that he's all grown up and mature, let's remember his first basketball game this spring. The one where he showed up with a poster for Owen to hold. It read, "Cal-Sanity." I love having a teenager, especially since I get to have this one. He's pretty awesome.