Entering the World of TEN

Last year my son turned 10 years old. I was happy and sad all at the same time. I was glad that he was ten but sad that he was ten, he had reached double digits in the blink of an eye.  Physically, he is growing up so very fast. He is almost as tall as I am. Not that I am tall but at ten he is very close to my height which is 5’4. By the summer we will be eye to eye.  The doctor said at his annual physical that he will be at least 6’4. I am in no hurry for that to happen, my baby being a foot taller than I am. Nope, not ready for that at all.

The other day he came inside from playing a long game of hide and seek tag with his friends, a game they made up, I noticed he smelled and not the usual sweaty smell that he had at nine but a different smell, like he needed a shower fast and some deodorant smell. I was thinking could this be the beginning of puberty?  I am not ready for that either but nonetheless, I had to start thinking of what kind of deodorant that I should buy for a ten year old on our next trip to the drug store. But in the mean time I handed him a extra container of secret deodorant I had and told him to put it on after his shower. He complained that it was a girls deodorant and was I sure boys could use it.  I assured him that it was fine boys could use it and that on our next trip to the store we would buy him some for “boys”.

Over the past year my son has shown more independence also. He is taking more responsibility for his chores and even offered to wash dishes after dinner. He needs less help from me doing homework which is a very good thing since the 4^th grade math makes my head swim sometimes. And he has his own little routine in the morning when he gets dressed. He came up with a system all by himself and lays out his clothes the night before including his socks.  He even makes his own lunches which brings me to his ever increasing appetite.  This child can eat like a linebacker most of the time. I was like where did this come from? Some days it seems like the fridge never stays closed long. Fruit disappears faster than I can fill the bowl I keep it in on the table. It seems like it skips the bowl and goes straight into his stomach. I am glad that he eats mostly healthy foods and loves fruits and most veggies.  But, there are times when he wants that junk food too and sometimes on certain weekend days if you came to our house you might find both of us in a junk food haze watching a marathon of Cartoon network.

I am also finding out that this age is definitely the age of contradiction. My son will not hug me in public  because it is embarrassing he says. Then the other night while I was cooking dinner and he was playing in the front room and watching TV he came into the kitchen and asked for a hug. I was delighted to give him one since I hadn’t hugged him in days. It was a sweet moment. Of course, the no hugging in public rule still applies with him.  He is very independent but sometimes he needs help and guidance with his sticking to his schedule and I am happy to help with that.

Last night I was watching him sleep.  He did not like the fact that his bedtime changed to earlier because I wanted him to get enough sleep.  Every article I have read said that sleep is very important especially for growing kids.  He didn’t like it but I noticed that he almost goes right to sleep when he gets in bed now and I was thinking that the first ten years went by so fast. My baby is more independent,  taller, smarter, and becoming a tween right before my eyes.