What To Do...When They Outgrow You
I remember a time when my son and I wore the same size running shoe and I was very conscious not to buy Nikes with pink, red or orange on them just in case he decided to pick mine up and wear them to gym class.
Flash forward just one year and that cute little boy of 12, who had a soft, high-pitched voice and thought his mom walked on water, is the exact same height as his single-parent mother, wears a size 9 in men’s shoes and rasps when he speaks.
What is a mother to do when, within a year, her little boy suddenly grows into a man, or at least looks like one? I would love to blame the food he eats or water he drinks for the sudden transformation but we eat organic and purify our water so that just can’t be it.
I thought twice about dragging out the baby pictures and having an old “remember when” session with my 13 year old. I also thought better of getting him a cute little boy’s haircut and taking him for ice cream in hopes of bringing back the 5-year old fascination that a scoop of Coldstone’s Cake Batter Ice Cream used to bring.
Had I missed this growth spurt in my rush to get our house renovation finished? Or had his height crept up on me as I toiled away at my full-time job? I imagine lots of other moms ask themselves the same questions. But I am a single mother, I assumed I was supposed to notice these things more than my dual-parent counterparts. The simple fact was I just wasn’t paying attention.
It wasn’t until my child, and it seems strange to say that about a 5 foot, 6 inch tall teen, came back from a visit at his Dad’s halfway across the nation, that I noticed all the changes. He stepped off the plane, escorted by a flight attendant at least a head shorter than he was, and I stood there at the gate, shocked. He seriously couldn’t have grown that much in three weeks!
He really hadn’t but I just hadn’t been paying attention, like I said earlier, for a very long time. I always thought I had time later to watch him grow up. But “later” is now and he has now outgrown me.
After that rude awakening in the airport, I am determined not to let an “outgrown” spurt like this escape my attention again.
So, what did I do? In true motherly fashion, I simply sighed and said, “well, I guess we need to get you some new clothes” as he and I walked down to the baggage claim to get his luggage—he in his high-water jeans (I swear I sent him to his Dad’s in clothes that fit!) and me primarily wearing a face of shame and shock.
Bama Mama grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, traveled the world and is in the daunting process of raising one of the greatest 13-year-old guys ever. In her spare time, she writes about manners, tries to use said manners and strives to learn one new thing every day. She is a proud member of the U.S. Air Force.
