A Few Good Years

It is halfway through summer vacation, and while I worked from home last year as well, this summer felt more urgent in terms of spending some quality time with my 7-year old son. This week, he finally figured out the physics of riding his bike and can confidently balance without needing mommy or daddy to hold him up anymore. Along with that, and the fact that he rode his first double loop de loop roller coaster this summer, he really is growing up so fast. He wakes up and reads for hours. He can make his own breakfast, and he's not afraid to play in the basement alone...

This brings me to my point. With every passing year, he becomes more independent, responsible, and mature. This is something that any parent would be proud of, of course. It just makes me wonder, how long until he really doesn't need us anymore? Another 10 years, maybe? There are those who say that a kid will always needs their parents. If I look back at my own childhood, my parents were always there to help with homework, projects, and to drive me to school. Then, as an adult, they helped me move into my campus dorm room, year in and year out. I know that there will be many memories to make with my son in the years to come.

What I am afraid of, is the evolution of the relationship. When he was born, he needed us. He didn't know anything else. Because we were constantly adapting to his next life stage, it felt like he grew up too fast. Before we knew it, he was talking and walking. But then, the personality showed up...

Perhaps this is my real concern. At 3, he was a great listener, except when it came to nap time. As soon as school started, the powers of influence changed from listening to what your parents say to listening to what your teachers and friends are telling you. I was warned of this change. As much as you want to keep your child sheltered from learning inappropriate behaviours, there is not much a parent can do prevent a child from picking up less than desirable habits.

Anyway, I digress. The personality that my son has developed seems to be the dictionary definition of the Scorpio: loyal, smart, and stands by his beliefs. He is also argumentative. As we can deduce from my first paragraph, he is brave, but can be sensitive. If he gets discouraged, it takes a long time to convince him to 'Try, try again". Knowing all this, I am not sure how I feel about entering the next stage of his development.

While he is young, he is still holding onto at least 50% of his innocence. He ask us questions like he is starving for information, and he still calls us mommy and daddy, which is cute but won't last long, as he gets peer pressured by his new friends in the fall.

In conclusion, I am holding onto the summer of 2022 as the year of innocence. He will never be this young again and I don't want to lose a second of it. It won't be long before he becomes a moody pre-teen (he is already showing signs of that!) and talking to your mom becomes uncool. Three weeks left. Here we go...!