Both kids are back in school! I feel like that sentence deserves an exclamation mark and maybe some of those Facebook confetti animations, although my feelings on summer coming to an end are decidedly mixed. I’m not looking forward to the days getting shorter and I am fairly neutral on the growing presence of pumpkin spice flavored whatevers and I am for SURE a little anxious about what middle school has in store for Dylan but hey, both kids are back in school! I can now get my work done without a constant backdrop of CS:GO and/or sibling squabbling, plus our daytime grocery budget can take a much-needed breather. Hooray.

I’m a little shocked and a lot pleased they both allowed me to take their first-day photo, although Riley’s “smile” reveals how much he enjoyed that process:

I do not remember giving Riley permission to turn FOURTEEN (I mean …) but he went ahead and did just that on August 31st.

Fourteen! He has, and I am not making this up, an actual mustache of sorts these days. Not like a luxurious Magnum P.I. lip-pelt or anything, but enough of a scrungy-looking shadow of fuzz that I nag him into — I am STILL not making this up — shaving. I have a giant teenager who shaves, you guys.

That right there is probably more than he would like me to share on the Internet, but I hope I will be forgiven if I also tell you that he is, at fourteen, a very smart and surprisingly responsible human who will teensplain you to death on the reg but will also hold the door for you and laugh appreciatively at your lame jokes.

He likes gaming, music, memes, cats, anything that results in him earning a bit of cash, arguing (if this kid doesn’t eventually become a lawyer or at least join a debate team in high school I think he will have missed a higher calling), crafting various weapons out of wood, staining things with permanent markers (ask me why he’s forbidden to touch a Sharpie ever again until he’s in his thirties, oh wait don’t because it is TOO SOON), Hamburger Helper, frappuccinos, and going to the movies.

It’s hard to believe he’s on the verge of high school, driving, and of course leaving us behind as he starts his own life. I try and remember that, how even the hard stuff is so fleeting. It all just goes so damned fast.

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Donna
Donna
4 years ago

You’re not the only one who can’t believe he could POSSIBLY be 14 (more than one exclamation mark required)!!. What a good looking boy he is. 14…. that means I’ve been enjoying your writing for a LONG time and I’m suddenly feeling very old.😄

Jeanette
4 years ago

Oh my gosh, I remember when he was born (and I thoroughly enjoyed re-reading his birth story!)What a handsome young man he has become.

Anonymous
Anonymous
4 years ago

Where’s the Love button? I just clicked your link and read his birth story AGAIN and I cannot believe life moves so fast and if yours is 14 mine is almost 13.5 and I say this every year so there we are.

Christine
Christine
4 years ago

Sorry, that was me above. I was carried away with the emosh of it all and hit submit too soon.

Shawna
4 years ago

OMG one of Harris’s best friends has hit a growth spurt and his voice is noticeably lower and he is getting that fuzz on his upper lip and he is ELEVEN! Gah! Harris still looks like a kid and while he himself isn’t there yet (his friend is definitely an early bloomer) it’s a reminder that it could be right around the corner for him and it’s kind of freaking me out a bit.

Is Riley starting to sound a bit deeper?

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3 years ago

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