Friday 8 July 2011

One row at a time

It has been a busy week for C.  He's nearly 12 and in his last few weeks of Primary School. He's growing up - maturing (intermitently).  He's growing upwards - rapidly.  And he's starting the beginning of a (hopefully) long process of growing away from us.  These changes are all quite subtle and incremental by themselves, but sometimes I see examples of all three of these things together and it is really rather startling.

We walked the fifteen minutes up the hill to his new High School, for his induction day, on Wednesday morning.  He chatted to me about Topshop, Warhammer, bread recipes, the school play and his baby cousin's love of cars. I turned to him, laughing at something he said, and thought 'he's nearly as tall as me - I look across at him, not down at the top of his head these days'

A couple of blocks from school he suddenly said 'It's okay - I know the way from here. See you later'. I know a cue when I hear one, so I said goodbye and walked back home thinking how did this happen so quickly?  I love his new independence and the emerging young man, but it really only seems a short while since he would clamber onto my lap for a story, or want to buy Action Man stickers when we went shopping.

Tonight he's at his Leavers' Prom.  I heard him on the phone to his friend earlier, discussing what sort of shirts they'd be wearing.  C opted for a check shirt and skinny jeans.  He looked taller and slimmer than ever.

And this Sunday he's doing his first ever triathlon.  He's apprehensive, but excited too.  He's focusing on the finish line rather than his nerves, which I think shows an admirable presence of mind.  He doesn't mind admitting he is a bit intimidated - as little as a year ago he would have bluffed and blustered his way through it all, or more likely simply not have wanted to do it.  He's maturing.

And while all this has been going on I've been knitting myself a baktus scarf for the autumn.  I knit very slowly, but doing a row here and a row there, it is growing steadily, and without me really noticing until I stop and look at it.  There's a metaphor in there somewhere.

Baktus progress

8 comments:

  1. You & G have both had me in tears tonight!! What is wrong with me????? xx

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  2. oh they grow up so fast. best wishes for his weekend xxxx

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  3. Awww, what a lovely post. I hope it all goes really well for him this weekend.

    Mine both wanted to be dropped off at the school disco tonight and not have me sitting on the sidelines for the first time. That was very weird.

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  4. Oh, sigh... lovely post... maybe if you go really, really slowly on the scarf?

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  5. I can relate totally to this post, just taken my eldest to get his new blazer etc for seniors in september - normally he hates trying clothes on but he was buzzing this morning he cant wait to start xx (p.s. your scarf looks like its going to be lovely cant wait to see a pic of it finished )

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  6. Sigh - I hear you. Too fast.

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  7. I come at this from the opposite perspective because of Eldest's disability. I wish my child could walk to school on her own - it's only five minutes. I want to watch her run off into the distance, but I can't.

    I imagine that when the time comes with Littlest though, the feelings will be much closer to yours.

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  8. Same thing happening to me at the moment. Emotional time - I'm enjoying seeing him growing in confidence and know he's ready to leave primary school but also want to yell slow down please don't grow up any more ... !

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