It’s the legs that really kill me.
At twelve, my oldest son’s face is still his face. Though his baby cheeks have hollowed and he now stands at my height, pointedly meeting my gaze when we argue, his eyes betray him every time: they still give me the face of the same baby I held in my arms twelve years ago, when I wondered for the first full year of his life if they would really stay blue. They did.
But not much else has remained the same about that baby from so long ago (and yet yesterday?) now, especially his legs. His stocky toddler thighs, the ones that curled into my body so easily when we still napped together daily, are gone. They have grown, beanstalk-style, until I find myself staring at them sometimes in bewilderment. They are not the legs of a child. These are the legs of a young man: long and lanky, increasingly furry, stretching out in front of him, capped by knobby knees I associate with baby horses or giraffes. I can’t believe those are the legs of my first baby.
Each age possesses its own magic, but twelve seems to shine a little more brightly than most to me. Twelve is a bridge between childhood and the land of teenagers, a place of juxtaposition and paradox. He still kind of wants to trick-or-treat, but he doesn’t necessarily want to dress up in a costume. He peruses the Lego catalog, but he doesn’t find anything he wants to buy with the same sense of urgency and enthusiasm he had even last year. He’s not interested in the pumpkin patch, but he likes to help get the decorations out of the attic. He doesn’t want to know the lyrics to “Let It Go,” but he does… along with the words to “All About That Bass.”
Twelve is both breaking my heart and healing it. After a colicky babyhood and a stubborn, incredibly willful toddlerhood, this child has blossomed into a full grown person, someone who reads faster than I do, who has hopes and dreams and goals of his own, who enjoys electrical engineering and marine biology and makes his own literary allusions that delight me when I catch them. He is a promise fulfilled: everything I ever hoped for, better than I ever imagined, a dream in flesh and Gap button-downs. He surprises me, sometimes, with unexpected kindness. Though everything is mortifying to Twelve, he somehow doesn’t mind telling me he loves me in public. He’ll still hold my hand. I could not have called this when he was 3 and 4 years old and a holy terror, but I am relieved and, yes, a little shocked that he has actually turned out to be pretty reasonable and cooperative most of the time.
But he can also sometimes be thoroughly exasperating. He can be irresponsible. Arrogant. Careless. He still does not understand consequences; he still doesn’t fear the world, for better or worse. He’s the same child who once jumped into the deep end of the pool before he could swim, who had to be rescued by a lifeguard at the beach because he did not believe a riptide could be stronger than he was, who ran into a tree trying to catch a frisbee because he didn’t look ahead. He believes, quite confidently, that he is smarter than we are. He scares me, because he is, more than ever, my heart walking around outside my body… only now, that heart walks on those long legs, with wizened eyes but without any life experience yet to inform his choices.
Twelve is PG-13 movies, absolutely mandatory deodorant, science fair projects, ear buds. Twelve wears ironic T-shirts (“The Periodic Table of Minecraft”) and shorts he outgrows almost before we can pull the tags off of them, sneakers larger than my own that wait to trip me on my way to the kitchen, socks I cannot keep white. Twelve is one-syllable answers and the occasional gift of a precocious turn of phrase, baby talk for his little sister and “‘Sup?” for his friends. It’s a lone pimple marring an otherwise still smooth and flawless face and long, careful fingers that belie the man he is becoming all too quickly.
Twelve is, for us, seventh grade. It is in all ways the middle: of middle school, of puberty, of “growing up.” I can see now the heartache that will come, slowly but surely. I don’t know all his friends, and I don’t know if he likes anyone in particular yet, but I know he will, and it won’t always end well. Similarly, I know other disappointments and other kinds of heartbreak are lying in wait, just out of sight. And there’s nothing at all I can do about it but love him and encourage him and hope that when the inevitable happens, he brushes himself off and keeps on the path that is right for him, probably while I hold my breath as close by as he will allow.
In many ways, I feel like I might be stepping gingerly into the hardest part of parenting: the actively letting go, the small glimpses of independence and shows of faith that will soon lead to driver’s licenses and Saturday nights out and college applications and internships and summers abroad and goodbyes that aren’t temporary. It’s not easy to manage the care and keeping of little people; the physical and emotional components of parenting are overwhelming when our children are young. But as thrilling as it is – and it is thrilling – to see my child grow up, healthy and ready to take on the world, my heart is heavy with the knowledge that being a good parent to him now is increasingly harder stuff than diaper changes or first grade homework. Bubble wrapping him would be easier, but it would be wrong.
Luckily, when I need a hug, he gives me one willingly. His arms now wrap all the way around me, his cheek next to mine, his feet on the ground. I hope those crazy legs of his hold him steady and strong when he walks away from me someday. I know now that it is my job to make sure they do.
This is the second installment in the This Is Adolescence series. Read the rest of the series below:
Lindsey Mead wrote about the age of Eleven.
Bethany Meyer wrote about the age of Thirteen.
Catherine Newman wrote about the age of Fourteen.
Jessica Lahey wrote about the age of Fifteen.
Marcelle Soviero wrote about the age of Sixteen.
Shannon Duffy wrote about the age of Seventeen.
Lisa Heffernan wrote about the age of Eighteen.
Gorgeous. Uplifting and heartbreaking. Everything you write about parenting leaves a lump in my throat. You are the clear voice of our experiences, and I love you for it.
Weeping. Beautiful. Thank God for you. Xoxo
Beautiful, Allison. My youngest turned 12 yesterday. Some things are different, as she is a girl, but so very much is the same as what you write here.
And for someone who is deep in the trenches of the letting go part of parenting, I think you are so very right. It is the hardest part, but gratifying at the same time.
Today is my son’s twelfth birthday so this post was especially, and equally, both heartwarming and heartbreaking. And whilst he is not my first born like your twelve year old, he is my baby. First, middle, last, it is all difficult and wonderful to watch.
Thank you! I am crying my eyes out right now. I am a full time dad so I have seen him grow before my eyes. Reading your article helped me understand that I am not alone in this as a parent and that I must be a good dad because I always look for articles that will make me a better man for my son. Thank you!
Beautifully written and oh, so very, very true.
Thanks so much for sharing this, Allison. It’s a lovely tribute to your son and to parenting. I can relate to your observations and feelings, as I have a 13yo daughter who has evolved in some similar ways and a 9yo daughter who’s approaching the realm of puberty. I write about my girls often and it’s usually when I’m stringing together the words for their stories that I realize how suddenly they have grown and how I wish I could freeze time, just for a few minutes, to create a mental collage of all the physical features and expressions that make them who they are in that brief, wonderful moment.
Stunningly beautiful and real. xo
I read this as I’m snuggling my 1.5 year old little boy and knowing these days will be here for us before we know it. I almost can’t stand it, but it also melts my heart to think of what he will become. Thanks for the great read.
It’s the legs that kill me too! Yes to the Legos. Yes to the Halloween costumes. I am trying to come up with a clever way of saying how much I love this, but I’m just going to keep it simple. I love this!!!
Oh I am actually crying. Sometimes, I admit, I’ve said I am when I’m not–because I am deeply moved enough that I *could* be crying (our secret)–but right now, reading these words, I am. actually. crying. This is so utterly beautiful. My boys feel so far from twelve, and yet I can see, ever so dimly, hints of what you describe here. That he still holds your hand, that he still fancies himself fearless, but that he reads fast and stands tall…I read this with a furrowed brow above my tear-filled eyes, insatiably confused and curious at all that lies ahead…thank you, thank you for this gorgeous glimpse.
This could’ve been written about my 12 yr old son (other than the fact that he won’t hug me too willingly.). It made me cry and I agree about everything. Lately I’m constantly thinking that in just a few years he will be off to college and I know it’s going to happen “in the blink of an eye.” I’m still wondering how my fussiest, most difficult baby/toddler turned into such an awesome kid. He’s blooming right before my eyes and I’m bursting with pride and an emotional wreck at the same time. Can’t we slow down time?????
perfectly captured. so sweet and bittersweet.
This is so, so beautiful. I don’t have a 12 year old, but after reading this, I know exactly what 12 looks like.
Sing it, sister, about the mandatory deodorant. Gaa! That was kind of a shocker. One day, they smell like grass and bee pollen and then Wham! Le stank.
I am both jealous and proud that he will hold your hand. *choke* I never know what reaction my kid will give me re: physical contact. Sometimes, hugs are welcomed, sometimes I get the fangs.
Loved your writing, as usual.
Lovely. I could not agree more. My son is 31 and we had the same amazing and delightful adventures and impressions. The same affectionate gestures.
Yours reminds me of all the days I had with my child. So many people misunderstand these boys. Thanks for your insight. Wonderful writing. We’ll done!!!
Alison, I felt as if I were looking right at your son as I was reading this. The descriptions and analogies are so vivid and full of heart. I know you wrote about five before-my daughter’s age–this age enthralls and scares me because I know the letting go part will be hard, but has to happen gradually.
As always, beautiful and heart touching. My boy is about to be fourteen and I miss twelve! Oh and the irresponsibly, arrogance and carelessness will still be around at 14. Sorry to warn you.
Beautiful. You have really captured 12. And provided hope for the terror of my 5 and 2 year olds!
The tears started rolling as I read this. It’s so beautifully written and really captures every detail and feeling of watching our children grow up. My oldest is 9, but I’m already anticipating this next phase. Thanks for sharing in so thoughtfully.
I thought Bethany’s 13 was perfect, but so is your 12. If I combine both of them I see my 10 year old standing clearly in front of me. No joke.
Fabulously expressed. I love it.