So our youngest son, Justin, turned 12 this weekend.  Hard to believe, but in one year all of our kids will be teenagers.  If you’d asked me last year if I felt old enough to have three teenagers I’d have said "no way."  Well, having just two has aged me exponentially and I have a feeling that having a third is going to push the turbo button on the energy sapping, gray hair producing process known as parenting teenagers.

Of course that means I’m really starting to relish the waning moments of true childhood.  Justin and his buddies still do the silly, juvenile things that boys are known for.  Well, okay, we males never truly outgrow doing silly, juvenile things but at least it’s still appropriate for him.  That means it was annoying, yet acceptable, that he and his two friends decided to reenact much of Iron Man after we left the theater on Saturday.  Luckily they only came close to knocking over an AARP member four or five times while we waited in line at Kernel Kustard.  It also means that it was totally understandable that after several hours of hanging out with those kids I was ready to retreat to a cave with a case of beer, not to be heard from for at least 24 hours. 

Unfortunately in the next couple of years we’ll be past the age of innocence and we’ll be hip deep in teen angst on three different levels.  Think about it.  In three years we’ll have an 18 year old son, a 17 year old daughter and a 15 year old son.  Our garage will be full of Clearasil, my psyche will be bruised from all the accusations of being a total dork who just doesn’t "get it" and our bank account will hold only a whiff of the money it used to contain.  Oh, and we’ll be on the precipice of having three kids with drivers licenses, not to mention the impending drama of sending kids off to college at which point I’m pretty sure I’ll be shuttling Celeste to daily therapy sessions (she hates it when I do these "picture the future" things).  Good night, I need a beer just thinking about it.

So let’s just say that running around with a few pre-teen boys, no matter how out of control they may seem, is actually something I cherish.  And to be honest I’m going to miss having the "boy" Justin around.  He’s a unique, wonderful kid and I’m positive he’s going to be an amazing young man, but I’d like to keep the kid around a little longer if I can.  I know it’s impossible, but one can wish.

Happy birthday J.