Oh, my favorite little bear1. You’ve hit the last year before teenagerdom, and I forever love having this front-row seat. You continue to amuse and amaze me, and I can’t believe these are your last Top 10 lists as a nonteenager.
Top 10 Favorite Things:
Lego
Aggravating your dear sister (she’s still got a few inches and 20+ lbs on you, but you still whip up on her)
The Lord of the Rings (it took a few times of you trying to read through the Hobbit and the first LOTR book <”Why does Tolkien take 8 paragraphs to describe a tree?”>, but now you’re a huge fan)
Youth group - after 6 years of wanting to be old enough, the time has come
Your mom. Both the person as well as saying that phrase no fewer than 483 times a day.
Fairness
Playing Fall Guys and Rocket League on the Switch
Doing outdoorsy stuff with Dad
Cool trucks
Carbs (pizza, pasta, sushi, cake, donuts, biscuits - you’re an equal-opportunity carb appreciator)
Top 10 Least Favorite Things:
Beans, tomatoes, most soups (you graciously tolerate my <amazingly delicious> chicken soup), saucy foods, cooked fruit
Dogs
Bees/wasps/yellow jackets
Talking to people you don’t know well
Saving money
Reading out loud
Meanness
Cleaning up all the Legos in your room (you often have your floor covered in Legos; 5 or 6 years ago, I told you you needed to clean your room. You told me that you like your Legos on your floor because it keeps the robbers and demons out of your room. It’s hard to argue with that kind of logic …)
Not having a phone
Lotion - which is a bummer since you have super dry skin
Top 10 Things You’re Good At:
Lego, specifically designing swords and Star Wars-y vehicles
Math and science
Drawing - it’s been cool to see you develop your own style of drawing
Following the rules
Mowing the lawn
Making people laugh, though we often talk about quality vs. quantity in terms of jokes
Asking deep questions; your curiosity is wonderful
Burping the alphabet - this happens to take the #1 spot on list of the Top 10 Things Your Mom Doesn’t Like
Directions - you’re really observant when we’re in the car
Ice skating
Top 10 Things You’re Not Good At:
Keeping your Lego creations together. It fascinates my brain how you can spend hours putting together a giant and intricate set … and then, some amount of time later (a few days to a few months), you break it apart so you can build something different and/or better.
Being excited about trying new foods
Keeping your plate in front of you when you eat - it’s usually off to the side from where you’re sitting at the table, which means you’re usually twisting your body so that it’s in front of your plate
Speaking German
Not getting injured; it seems like you’re always covered in bruises and scratches
Enjoying playing a game you’re losing in
Pole vaulting
Tying balloons
Doing math without doodling
Snapping your fingers
What a year of growth you’ve had. You’ve grown physically for sure - you’re up to 5’2” (the height Natalie was 18 months ago) and you don’t show any signs of slowing down. You’ve grown emotionally, which, for your age, sometimes means that your emotions are all over the place. You’ve grown spiritually as you continue to ask deep and hard questions. You’ve grown smarter, and you’ve become quite a writer this year. You continue to ask deep questions about God, and I pray those never stop.
The preteen emotions have definitely arrived. You’ve seen Natalie over these past few years to know just what a wild effect hormones can have on a person, so they didn’t completely catch you by surprise. But it’s still pretty jarring to feel normal one second, completely devastated the next, and end up completely furious - with nothing specific to trigger those emotions. We’re doing a lot of talking and I’m trying to get you to do a lot of laughing. Ridiculous emotions deserve to be laughed at from time to time.
You and Dad went on a camping trip recently. You had the best time, and I’m so glad I didn’t hear many of the details before you guys left. Hearing about the trails and the cliffs and other drop-offs definitely raised my blood pressure a bit. But the grin on your face as you told me all about it reassured me that this was just what you and Dad needed. I’m so thankful you two had this time together.
Here are a few more highlights from these past 12 months:
You got the DJ to RickRoll our friend’s wedding reception. It was hysterical.
You went to Ninja camp and Junior Park Ranger camp this summer
You built no fewer than 693 original Lego creations
You held a giant snake at school
You finally got old enough to join our church’s youth group
You got to drive a Corvette simulator
Keep doing what you’re doing, sweet boy. Keep seeking the Lord. Keep loving your friends and family well. Keep asking the tough questions. Keep doing what’s right even if you’re doing it on your own. Keep your sensitive heart. Keep your eyes on Him as He leads you.
(And also, keep aggravating your sister. It’s good for her.)
Hugs and smooches,
Mom & Dad
1 You’ll always be my favorite bear, but your description as ‘little’ likely won’t last for many more years. But let’s be for real - even if you end up at 6’5”, I’ll still call you little. Cuz I can.
