It's a cruel realization when a mother watches
the beginning and ending all in one event! Aaauuughhh….
It actually started at the beginning of the
2011-2012 school year (it just took this long to feel it sink in!!)
Jeffrey plays in the final 2012 band concert in Beginning Band ...
Jeffrey found new life in music when he decided
to join Beginning band in middle school. He chose flute and has
practiced faithfully always working hard to be worthy of first chair.... he’s
anxiously looking forward to next year in Intermediate Band and has already
auditioned to play in Jazz Band (for which he will learn a new instrument –
Alto Sax)… hmmm, I sense a theme forming.
THEN after the concert … my heart skipped a beat and froze as I watched my young boy who suddenly seemed so different to me ~ perhaps it was my angle, no my vision was fine ... I do see a girl clinging to his shirt and staring into his eyes
walking backwards in time with each of his forward steps… YIKES!
This being the same kid who at the beginning of the school year looked
too young to be in middle school, thought it was weird that girls liked texting him… but now stands five foot six on size 11 shoes
~ happily walking along through the crowd of band students with a female
cling-on stuck to his shirt. [Ughhh say it isn’t so ….]
Jason plays his FINAL concert Jazz / Advanced Band ...
It becomes more apparent every day that my oldest
son will be leaving middle school and this six foot one boy with size 13 feet
will be hurled into the world of high school …where his already whirled
hormones and furled emotions are exposed to exponential disturbances. Ugghhh
(I dare not even attempt to
capture its depth, as I think “been there, done that” works with the HUGE
adjustment for ‘gender’ difference.)
In case you didn’t
recognize Jason, he’s the (not-so-natural) copper-haired guy standing head and
shoulders above the rest… can’t miss him!
Hair styles and colors
come and go, but all in all they both have big hearts, LOVE music, and they
shock me with their mature approach to life and responsibility.
Just the other day Jason
took his own money to school to pay for a lost library book – we didn’t even
have the conversation about why he should pay for it not me… he just took
responsibility for it. I was, of course,
genuinely sad that he had to pay for a lost book; but the fact that a child
didn’t feel entitled to a parent’s
pocketbook and the right for someone else to pay for his oversight -- yep, I am one proud momma! [end
of story … someone else found the book and turned it in … so no fee was due.]
Not to be over looked is
Jeffrey’s refreshing display of responsibility. He remembers to pull the clothes from his PE
bag (Oh
thank you, Lord) and promptly
takes the offending clothes to the washer all items from boys shared hamper;
promptly begins the load of laundry and typically remembers to follow
through to the dryer, folding and putting away (at some point his bro’ is
involved in the folding/put away of his own stuff though). He uses his own money to buy donuts when he
goes somewhere with his friends … and wants to save up to buy his own pair of
custom Nikes.
I continue to enjoy the
blessings of being a mom … even while giving hugs in the upward direction (yes,
with heels on too) it’s not such a bad deal.
H o n u g i r l
