Franklin, my full grown, didn't have to change his diapers son is beginning to approach typical teenagerdom. He's shown some flashes of it in the past, but not really anything spectacular. He often hovers somewhere between 13 and 17. And he would be the first to say that he acts 13, by teasing and antagonizing his little brothers, because he doesn't have any teenager friends. He doesn't get to go the mall, or hang out with his friends, go to parties... what are we doing to him. Destroying any chance he might have a long term happiness that's what! Now, before you all sit back and shake your head at me, shouting out Heil Amy! Please know that he's not forbidden from said activities, but before I let him get into a car with another teenager (and they can be nasty, untruthful, deceitful, things teenagers) I want to at least have had the chance to meet the kid who's holding the life of this child in his hands. I owe it to his mother, at the very least. And Franklin, well, harboring a deep sense of teenager shame, doesn't want to invite any of his friends over. Not that I blame him, most of his friends come from the in ground pool set in the ritzy zip codes -- you don't get that kind of glamor with cheapzilla (me) and survivor of the the third world.
But it is his senior year. And as he's not allowed to get his driver's license until he can pay for his car insurance, I have finally gotten him to contemplate, though not too seriously the thought of maybe, possibly, looking for a job, kind of, after soccer season is over. I think the threat of going with him to prom with Elijah as my date was really the motivating factor - though not too motivating until he understood going with him didn't mean that I was going to sit in the car and wait for him, but sit right next to him and tell all sorts of stories about wierd habits he has at home (of which I'm actually unaware, he must complete strange rituals in his bedroom).
And finally, after almost 2 years, I know that Franklin has finally reached a true level of comfort here because last night, as we were looking at a way to find a class ring that didn't cost an arm and a leg, he passed gas. Yes, you all know about the fart level of comfort. It was a special moment for us all. And being me, I let everyone in the house know, and now I'm telling the 3 people who read this as well.
