liam at thirteen

Friends, we have a teenager. This is not a drill.

But you know what? Even though the teenager thing is new for us, there's no teenager I would rather have than Liam. Sure, he's sassy sometimes, and sometimes he's sullen and withdrawn, but the vast majority of the time he's open, engaged, friendly, and curious. Just like when he was a toddler figuring out how to open all the locks on our apartment door and let himself out to roam the building, he still wants to figure out how things work (only now it's on a larger scale). He's been riding his bike to tennis all summer (the courts are across town) and getting more independent by the day. He is tall and strong and bold and bright — everything we could have asked for and more.

I asked Liam if he feels different now that he's a teenager, and he said that he feels the same, except that he is more mature than he used to be. He said that just this morning, Henry was standing in the doorway of his room messing with his fidget spinner really loudly, "and instead of blowing up at him, I just asked him to keep it down because I was sleeping." [Me: Did Henry stop with the noise? Liam: Yeah, but I was already up by then. I just can't go back to sleep once someone wakes me up!] It's a small example, but I've definitely seen his maturity on display in lots of ways lately.

Just like last year, Liam couldn't think of anything he wanted for his birthday this year. When anyone asked him, he would just smile and say, "I'm pretty content with what I've got, thanks!" I continue to be amazed and impressed by this. But unlike last year, he has a pretty big gift to look forward to anyway.

Years ago, we told the boys that 13 is an important age; it marks the turning point between child and young adult. We explained that they'll go through a lot of changes starting around age 13, and that it's the start of a new phase in their lives. To celebrate, we promised that for each 13th birthday, Mike and I would take the birthday boy (but no brothers!) to the destination of his choice (within reason -- believe me, they pushed on this until we firmly told them Lower 48 only) for a long weekend. Liam has chosen Seattle because he wants to go up in the Space Needle and do the underground tour. So early tomorrow morning, we get on a plane and head west to help him start his teenage years with a bang.

It's the start of an era.

Happy birthday, Liam! We love you.