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A Letter to My Teenage Son

Posted on August 17, 2016 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL,

Happy 13th birthday NHL! Please hold for a moment while I scream. You see, today is a huge milestone for our entire family. You are officially 13 years old and a teen. No more preteen garbage, it’s all or nothing kiddo. This also means that Dad and I are now the parents of a teenager.

How did this happen?

It honestly feels like a blur and is hard to believe that my first born is now 13 years old. I swear it seems like yesterday when I was:

changing a million of your diapers.
picking out cute baby outfits for you to wear.
sitting on the floor with you for tummy time.
watching your eyes light up as you spoke to us for the first time.
singing and dancing with you and The Wiggles.
getting you ready to head to daycare which broke my heart.
driving you with a box of donuts to visit Poppy Sol.
clapping my hands when you walked on your own.
preparing you to become a big brother.
crying on your first day of school.
listening to you read me your first book.
watching your love of learning grow more and more each day.
chasing you from one Disney character to another for an autograph and photo.
hugging you tight as we left one school to try another.
listening to you play percussion for the first time.
talking to you about neurodiversity and what it means.
attending your first band concert.
taking you to visit the middle school.
going to school to watch you during the honor roll ceremonies.

There are so many other moments and memories that we have shared in the last thirteen years. I never would have imagined how your birth could change my world. I am so thankful that you are my son and part of my life. Each day you continue to amaze me with your kind soul, amazing insight, and quick ability to learn and retain new things. While we may not see eye to eye every day, I know this is just a phase of our relationship that goes with the teen years. This will pass and one day we will look back and laugh at it.

It still floors me that you can look me right in the eyes. In a few months, I will likely be looking up to speak to you. We are weeks away from your Bar MItzvah. Through all of the preparations you have been amazing. You have rarely complained about anything and done what needs to be accomplished to get ready for your big day. I know it hasn’t been easy to go to Hebrew School, lessons, and more over the last few years. You followed through with this like a champion and I can’t wait to see you up on the bimah sharing this with all of our family and friends.

Two short years ago, we celebrated your 11th birthday and were anxious about middle school. You went into the building and showed us how to get it done. You set goals for yourself and never stopped once you reached them. Gold Honor roll was important, along with honors classes, and making All City Band. After Labor Day you will begin 8th grade with all honors courses, including two 9th grade Regents classes. It’s going to be a busy year, but I know you will get it done and make all of us proud of your hard work.

While I know the teen years can be difficult, I hope that you know Dad and I are here for you. We will be cheering you on from behind the scenes and ready to help if/when you need us. As always remember to Just Keep Swimming toward any goals you set. Anything is possible and don’t let anyone ever tell you something different.

Love,

Mom

Categories:
birthday milestone nhl

Twelve Years

Posted on August 17, 2015 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL,

Please slow down! You are growing up way too quickly before my eyes. It seems like when I blinked you went from being a child to a teen. The little boy in you is pretty much gone and I see an amazing young man emerging.

Last summer was bitter sweet. I watched you move on from elementary school and sent you off to middle school. I held my breath for many days unsure of how this huge transition would go. Big changes are never easy and we tried to preset you as much as possible in a positive way. Moving from class to class, having multiple teachers, and being in a huge school could have been a disaster. Much to my surprise, you loved middle school. Each and every day, you woke up and wanted to go to school. This was new for you and after a few months, I was able to exhale.

You were so blessed to have been in a school with a team of sixth grade teachers that were so dedicated. You witnessed teamwork in action and, thanks to this, were able to spread your wings. We also saw you become more responsible and mature. We were proud of your grades, but you wanted more. You set your mind on making gold honor roll third quarter. You told every person at school that this was something you wanted. We watched as you worked so hard to accomplish this goal. You studied hard and stayed after school when you wanted to make sure you understood aspects of the book you were reading. When it came time for honor roll to be announced, you were so proud of yourself. You were beaming and I was so thrilled for you. Now if you ever give up on something, I will subtly remind you of your ability to set goals and accomplish them.

Eleven was also the year that you went to the local science fair with your project. Your passion for science really took off this year because of a dedicated period each day with a teacher that inspired you through hands on learning. I can no longer assist you with your math because you are too good at it. For now on, you will be my guru for all things related to numbers. For NYSSMA, you asked your band teacher to allow you to try timpani drums instead of the usual snare drums. Once again, your determination to challenge yourself paid off.

This year, your braces came off and we learned about life with retainers together. Seeing your beautiful smile made the last pesky weeks of your metal mouth worth the stress. Outside of school, your interests have changed a little. You are still our geek in training earning lots of respect for your knowledge of Star Wars, Doctor Who, Harry Potter, card games like Munchkin, and so much more. Video games are still a huge part of your life, whether apps on your tablet or on the Nintendo WiiU. You also overcame a huge fear and learned how to ride your bike. Seeing you head off on your own thanks to a great program with role models that inspired you was so wonderful to witness.

The year ahead of us is going to be a busy one. You are off to seventh grade where they will challenge you academically. In addition to this, we have a Bar Mitzvah to get ready for. While I am in denial about this, the special day is just around the corner. Please remember that no matter how busy we get, I am always there for you. I will be your advocate and cheer you on as loud as I can. While you may not need me as much as you used to, I will always be ready to stand by your side.

Love,

Mom

Past B-day posts to NHL:

Categories:
birthday milestone nhl parenting

Eleven Years

Posted on August 17, 2014 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL,

Eleven years ago today, you decided that you wanted to surprise us by arriving a few weeks early. That moment you showed how you were going to lead us into a new and exciting world. Being your mother has been an amazing and loving journey. Of course, I have to admit that it has also been an adventure like no other. For some reason, nobody ever tells you that parenting comes with no instructions and you kind of make it up as you go along. I am blowing my cover now, but at eleven years old I need to confess. Here we go, I admit that being a perfect parent is impossible and I know I will no doubt mess up as we continue along.

NHL, you are an amazing young boy. You constantly amaze me with how smart and in tune you are with parts of the world around you. Not only are you a math whiz, but you get principles of science, love learning about people, places, and things from history and crave academic knowledge to share with everyone. Even when things were tough this year with so many changes in the educational world, you did your best to work through it. You finished elementary school and are waiting to begin your middle school years. Please know that while it may be a big transition this year, it is one that everyone goes through and it will make you stronger. Each and every bump along this road will help you to become a better person, please remember that.

Always know that you can come to me and tell me anything and everything so I can help you. This year you did that after something big had happened and I listened. It took us a while to fix the problem, but we did it together thanks to you opening up to me and standing up for yourself. It was a proud moment and together we can make a difference by being advocates together.

While I could go on and on about items that you did over the last year, like I have done for the last eight years, I know you are more private now. I am giving you space to help me to figure out what to share in my blog. I respect that because it is not always mine to write about. Perhaps you would like to help and write your views one day instead.

On that note, I wish you only the best now and forever. You will always be my baby and I will be standing by your side cheering you on as you show everyone around you how you will spread your wings and fly high. Nothing can stop you if you stay focused, do your best, and believe in yourself.

Love,

Mom

Past B-day posts to NHL:

Categories:
birthday milestone nhl parenting

Halloween and Hurricane Sandy

Posted on October 29, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

For weeks, the boys have been preparing for Halloween. This was the first year that JSL picked out his own costume and did not wear something that he inherited from his big brother. NHL knew just what he wanted to wear and JSL had to go with a slightly different choice (they don’t make Buzz Lightyear costumes past a certain toddler size). We have had everything ready, just sitting there and waiting.

I knew that the weather was not looking too great for a while. The other day, I picked up some cookies to bake for the boys just in case we could not go out in the rain. The only reason I did this is because I did not buy candy to give out to kids trick-or-treating this year. Of course, then the power outage scares made me get some other items (a toy) just in case we can’t make the kids those special Mickey Mouse cookies.

The weekend was dry, so it dawned on me that it was time to break out the costumes and get photos of the boys just in case we can not do it on Wednesday. So, we pulled all of the pieces together and got the boys dressed and went outside. It was Harry Potter versus Captain America.

The boys were SO happy to be outside, run around, and show off their costumes to some of the neighbors. It also let us capture the moment and get some fun photos. No, Hurricane Sandy will not ruin Halloween for us, it will just be different.

The reality is that the boys could care less about going out to get candy, they wanted to play in their costumes. It was run to watch Harry Potter chasing around after Captain America putting spells onto him. Of course, the little guy had no clue that they were ones that a good wizard should not be making. Oy!

Safe Halloween wishes to everyone, especially those in the path of Hurricane Sandy.

Categories:
fun jsl nhl photos weather

Orange Giraffe Poem Tower

Posted on October 27, 2012 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Dear NHL,

I adore when you tell me about the projects that you are working on at school. Of course, once they come home it is even more impressive. I love the creativity you show and the fantastic projects your art teacher comes up with. This latest one was no different. You picked the poem called Orange Giraffe to make a Poem Tower based on it. The giraffe was super cute. I love how the Model Magic marbled to make the perfect giraffe pattern.

When you look at the entire piece, it was really amazing to see all of the details included. It was especially cool to listen to you explain how you read the poem, made a big drawing, base of project was made, and finally the giraffe to attach.

I am looking forward to seeing what lies ahead the rest of this year in art and beyond. Oh and congratulations on winning the Word of the Week prize at school – very proud of you.

Love,