Eleven

From this...

 ... to this....

in just 11 fast years.  Time does fly, doesn't it?

We celebrated our boy on his actual day, with a small family dinner and lots of gifts.  Finally recovering a bit from his cold, Jack was able to enjoy the festivities.  We are grateful for that, and we are grateful for him.

At eleven, our boy is equal parts amazing and infuriating.  I've waited a few weeks this year to write his birthday post so that I would be better able to focus on the amazing, because (as has been noted) this year has not been a smooth start back to school, and my sweet boy has not been at his best.

Reflecting today, on a three day weekend with coffee and the sense that life is evening back out, it is easy to see how blessed we are to have this boy as our son.

Tall, charming, funny, with shoulders that don't quit and twinkling eyes and that secret smile dimple of his, he is stunning.  Quick witted, gifted with words, and a lover of economics and science, he continues to excel in his academics.  Gentle with animals and deeply sensitive, he is kind at his core.  This year he has emerged into an athlete, and has a competitive streak that pushes him to excel.   Though he continues to say he does not like music, he has a great ear and shows potential to be a capable musician.

Looking at him through this lens, it is thrilling to think of what the future has in store for this child.  This is the bright side of parenting a gifted child, I am finding.  He is good at everything he tries (when he is willing to try it...) and so it seems the world will open up before him and give him all he desires.  Sometimes, he is so witty and mature he seems ready to take on that world, all on his own.  I see how easy it is to say to a child like this, "You can be anything, do anything!!"

And how easy it would be to paralyze him with indecision and anxiety.  Because the flip side of parenting a gifted child has also been very clear this year.  Here we are with this brilliant and talented child and we struggle every day to get him to DO anything.  He fixates on his interests as always but this year his interests have firmly coalesced around screens.  Shifting back and forth from Fortnite to youtube videos to Idle Heroes to FIFA and back... but for the past year our beautiful son has been attached, every moment we let him, to a screen and headphones, like a large green growth on his head...  It is hard to balance wanting our child to follow his interests and be happy, with my values system that tells me danger lies in too much screen time.   And here we are with this brilliant and talented boy and he continues to be reluctant to put effort into anything new, anxious about change, quick to say no to activities, as fun as they may be.   At eleven, Jack still needs  our full support to manage his time and help him be open to the world.  Because at eleven he is tall and smart and grown up-- and still so very very young.

Interests, highlights and stats: Jack at 11

Loves:  Video games, youtube, his dog, sour cream and cheddar potato chips with ridges, gatorade, fantasy adventure novels, swimming, boating, soccer

Friends:  Max, Finn, Greg, Ben, Butch

Highlights of this past year:  Moving from Boulevard to the middle school! Gathered many awards for his award board to finish his elementary career-- Presidential Achievement, Honor Roll, Art and reading awards...A stellar first season on swim team, little fish. Got up the gumption to try something new and do East Side Kickers.  Moved in and out of love with the game Fortnite. Developed a nice wry sense of humor.  Is beginning to try the occasional new food.

Stats:  around 5'2" (nearly topping me!) and 95 pounds, wearing a men's 8.5 shoe.