time flies, part XII

Charlie is growing up so fast, I swear he is growing in his sleep.

Each morning he still gives me a big hug when he gets out of bed (a tradition I hope will continue until he leaves home), so it's how I gauge how tall he has gotten.

He has some classic teenage characteristics:   it's hard to get him out of bed in the morning, he needs to be told things multiple times before any action is taken, he is quick to anger when he feels he has been wronged.

He has always been good at convincing us to do things.  He made a PowerPoint presentation to talk us into letting him have the "Call of Duty" game.  His current project is trying to get a TV in his room to play Xbox on.  Not to watch TV, just to play Xbox.  We have always felt that kids don't need TV's in their rooms, so he has a big task ahead of him.  Here is a small excerpt from the email he sent us about it:

"...So having a tv in my room would not separate me anymore from you two or extend my playing time it would be a change of scenery or in this case "screenery". But I'm not done, no I know part of this is my maturity level so I am going to box up and sell all of my legoes after which 50% of my profits will go towards a tv and buying you guys a nice dvd player and 50% twoards college...."

But I still see glimpses of my sweet litle boy.  He will refill my coffee for me, or make me a cup of tea.  Every now and then he will slip in between Claude and myself on our little sofa and watch a favorite show with me.  If I have headed up to bed early to read, he will join me and talk about whatever is on his mind:  friend issues, school troubles.

I am doing the best I can to hold on to these moments, I know that the time will fly and he will be off and on his own.  My sweet little boy.