The teen years.

This past Saturday Brock turned thirteen. I am officially a parent of a teen now! It really is a blur and crazy how fast those years go by. But I must say that I consider myself very lucky to have been able to watch Brock grow from a tiny 6 lb. 1 ounce little guy to the person he has become these past 13 years.
Brock has always been a mild-mannered, people-pleasing, good-humored, tolerable, patient, thoughtful, witty and likable and many other great things. We watched him change from follower to leader in our home among the kids after his sister died and as more kids have been added to the family. He fills his role well and there is added happiness in our life because of his presence in our lives everyday.
Some 13 year olds can be very demanding, but not so with Brock. At this point in his life he is loves video games and his PS3, but is equally happy to let his brother and sisters play it too. He puts forth good effort in all of his classes at school and enjoys the saxophone, social studies, science and math. He is signed up for lacrosse this spring and hopefully will get some time to play more golf this summer too. He has lots of friends back in Michigan and is making new ones here in Minnesota as he gets the opportunity.
He still is always willing to do what I ask of him- like help with Crew and Teague or give up something for someone else, like a seat on the couch- when asked the first time. It amazes me and I try to let him constantly know how much I love and appreciate his obedience. I marvel at it more and more as the other kids grow and never respond the way Brock does. He sets the bar high when it comes to obeying your parents.
And yet he's not afraid to speak his mind and let us know when he feels something isn't fair or that he wants some space to himself. We are lucky that he is in our life and family and I sometimes I try to imagine how life would be if we had lost him in our tragic incident too. He came very close to not being here with us and I don't ever want to take that for granted. I don't deserve any of the kids I have in my life- they are all true gifts to me and 13 years with Brock has certainly been more than a blessing. It's been my joy to be his mom.
And friend.
He just got Face Book- as we made him wait until he was legally 13 to get a page. I got to be his first "friend" and somehow I am fortunate to be mom and friend. I hope that our relationship will grow even better with time. I'm am sure there will be days where we don't see eye to eye on things or where we need a little extra soace from one another. But for now I can honestly say that it is a remarkable and wonderful thing to have a teen in the house. Or maybe it's just Brock. =) He really is a great kid and I hope that in the years he has yet to grow and learn and share his life and goodness with the world that the world recognizes a tiny bit of his greatness and gives some of it right back. Happy teen years to my Brock!
{That cake Brock requested is here if you want to make one of your own...Pillsbury Turtle Cake. Delicious, easy and makes for a great birthday cake!}