We had a great time celebrating Zane’s last “childhood” birthday before he officially becomes a teenager next year. Twelve year-old boys are the best—they have better impulse control and less of that characteristic little boy energy, but they still have an openness and goofiness that girls of the same age seem to lose (having been a junior high-aged girl myself, I know how hard those years are).
As I’ve said before, Zane makes my job easy, and he’s become a great little helper around the house—especially if financial compensation is involved. He’s always up for an adventure, loves his cats and playing mini-golf, and enjoys collecting anything and everything (rocks, antique milk bottles, handmade ceramics . . .). He talks to his friends on the phone for hours, and will still converse with grown-ups if they engage him first.
He has definitely become a little quieter over the past year, which makes sense—the growing edge really turns inward during the teen years. Zane is just starting to think about what the adult version of him will do, and what dreams he will want to pursue. Thankfully, (for his mother, at least) he still has plenty of time left to figure all that out.
