Chapter Fifteen | Atlanta Child Photographer

This past Monday, my baby turned 15. Fifteen! I don’t know if you can believe it but it’s definitely difficult for me to believe. I have a bonafide teenager. An actual, REAL teenager. Yes, I know 14 is considered being a teenager but is it really? Even my son didn’t feel like a real teenager until he turned 15. Funny, we both thought of him being 14 as still being an adolescent but 15 is a whole game-changer. In addition, it is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, I do enjoy seeing him grow and become more mature. On the other hand, I see that I only have a limited amount of time with him. In three years’ time, he may be off to college or elsewhere. I don’t even want to think about how he will be perceived by others in authority. That’s a topic for another day. This day is to celebrate another year of my son walking this earth.

He is probably the one person who is most like me. My best friend since high school and I are a whole lot alike but we’re not like my son and me. I swear, there are times that I get so frustrated with him but I have to let it go because it’s like being frustrated with myself. Who said God doesn’t have an ironic sense of humor? My son and I even have the same sense of humor. We laugh at the same types of jokes. Heck, we tell the same type of jokes. And I love his phrasing. For instance, he had been complaining about his phone not holding a charge and not having enough space. After he received his new phone for his birthday, he said, “I had so little space on my old phone that I felt claustrophobic.” I don’t know about you, but that tickled me. He’s always phrasing things in such an interesting way and I love that about him.

My son is a good mix of my husband and of me, plus he has his own original thing going on. He’s kind and thoughtful. He’s that kid who puts extra treats in his lunch to share with his friends at school. He also takes extra money on field trips just in case someone is unable to purchase their lunch. Mind you, the extra money that he takes is his money. I am just amazed at his thoughtfulness and kindness. It makes me all warm and fuzzy. Now, I’m not warm and fuzzy all of the time because he is a teenager. His moodiness almost drives me to drink. There’s this constant look on his face like someone banned him from playing video games forever but he swears he’s fine and that his face just looks like that. Really? Anybody else experience that? I would love to read about your teenagers. For the most part, he’s a great kid. All of his friends seem to be great kids and I like their parents too. I do understand that his friends will be on their best behavior around me but he does let me know when there are kids that are just not right. I certainly appreciate his honesty and discernment. Knowing which people are your people and which ones aren’t, is a major thing.

Being that he is a teenage boy, he didn’t want a whole lot of pomp and circumstance for his birthday. His dad suggested we get balloons to put on the mailbox to signify to the neighborhood that it was his birthday. The look of incredulity and displeasure that appeared on his face showed that wasn’t a good idea and he did not concur. So, no balloons. Then we had a discussion about the cake and candles. He didn’t want a cake, which I was not surprised about so I suggested brownies. Brownies were acceptable but no candles. What? No candles? Eventually, he changed his mind. While at the store, for some reason I picked up a 1 candle and a 3 candle. Luckily I caught my mistake before we left the area. I guess I was hoping he would age backward. 

For his celebration, he decided that he wanted to celebrate on Sunday instead of Monday. Check. Then he requested a big breakfast, Popeye’s chicken for lunch, and bowtie pasta for dinner. In between all of that we had him make a wish and blow out his candles, then open his gifts. We didn’t sing because A) my husband and I can’t sing and B) he preferred that we didn’t anyway. I wanted to attach a video but the file is too large, so I’ll have to describe it. We gave him his gifts in one gift back so he had to unpack each item. The first thing he pulled out, after the card, was a package of brand new undershirts, which he desperately needed. Then he pulled out two packs of bit-sized crunch bars. I just recently found out that those were his favorite. And last but not least, his new iPhone 8. He was so surprised, overjoyed and grateful that he just dropped his arms and head and walked over to us and hugged us. I mean, he was at a loss for words. It was so cute! That just made his year.

It has been a quick 15 years and I really wish time would slow down a bit. The coronavirus has definitely slowed some things down and we’re all trying to take advantage of it. I hope this is one birthday that he definitely remembers. No matter what was going on, we were a family and a happy one at that. I still haven’t taken his official portrait but here are a few that I snapped with my iPhone. Before I took his picture he had on a baseball cap but decided he wanted to change his headwear. I thought he was going to get another cap. Nope. Let’s just say his sense of style is his and his alone. He feels comfortable in this hat and feels he looks good in it. Who am I to bust his bubble. Besides, under that hat is hair that desperately needs to be cut.

I could go on and on with funny stories, anecdotes, and a variety of adjectives for days about this young man but I won’t. I’ve typed enough already. I just pray that he retains all of his wonderful qualities and tempers the not so wonderful ones. That he will grow and mature and be an excellent example of how humans should be. He is my sonshine. He is my world. He is a part of me. This quote I found seems to sum up my feelings nicely and succinctly.

“So, there’s this boy. He kind of stole my heart. He calls me mom.” ~ Unknown