Too old for child, too young for teen. Tween. Some parents would say tweenagers are the worst of the worst years. Middle school, puberty, drama. Too old for toys, too young to not have toys.
Children in the various states of wanting responsibility yet lacking the ability to accept responsibility.
True to form and definition, you Stinky Feet, are in full tween mode. There are days when your high level of independence and willingness to be responsible for yourself and your duties is mystifying. Complaints are minimal and acceptance is peaceful.
Then there are those days when you rage, you scream, you tear for reasons unknown. The days you hate the world. Those are the days you go to bed before the sun sets with us reminding you tomorrow will be better, that your body just needs sleep. Lots and lots of sleep. So please, for the love of everything good and our sanity, go to sleep.
Because tomorrow does come and you are back to you.
You are the you you like and you like you. You are the you we like too.
The you with no sense of fashion.
The you who protects himself from space invades and ponders the tin foil hat brigade. The you who is not bothered by the likes or dislikes of those around.
The you who was stoked because you won the third place in the fifth grade spelling bee.
The who is successfully builds a working trebuchet one day,
and plays contentedly at the beach the next with lost and found toys.
The you who collects and wears his treasures proudly. (Make sure you wash your hair well as those did fall off a chickens' butt!)
The you, the fabulous sailor who is as fluid on a boat as water on a duck's back and is a wonderful teacher to his non-sailing mother.
The you who is not too old to have a Nerf dart fight at the laundry mat and then laughs at himself until he is blue in the face because he fell off the chair.
The you who cannot blow bubbles, even with the best of the best Bubblicious Bubble Gum.
The you who still finds humor is random things grandma sends you and then carry it around in your backpack for weeks and weeks.
The you who loves life.
The you who ate waffles for his birthday breakfast and then was seen sneaking leftovers during the day.
So yes, while you are in full tween, you are my tween. That makes you the BEST tween. Except those times like when you are asked to eat new meals. Not everyone had turkey on Thanksgiving! Besides, it was your birthday and I wanted it to be something special. Guess I should have just made box mac and cheese. Jeez!
Happy Birthday Stink Feet, you've had an amazing year. Can't wait to see what the next year holds for you!