My Baby is a Teenager

How is it possible that my little man is 13 today?!?  It seems like just yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital at just a few days old.  He is the light of my life.  It has been my greatest joy to watch him grow into the young man that he is today. 

He got off to a rocky start, needing to have a bone marrow transplant at 10 months old.  He was born with his fists pumped though and was ready to fight.  It was a long road for him, but Timmy the Tiger kicked Hyper IgM’s butt. 

For the first few years of Tim’s life, we lived in Wrigley right near the Red Line.  That is where he fell in love with trains. He’d love to go watch the trains and eventually we started taking him down by Union Station to watch the Metra and Amtrak trains come in.  When we moved to the burbs, our little village is located right along the tracks so he’d spend hours going to the station and watching trains.  I think we have every Thomas train and all the accoutrements known to man.  And yes, I’m a hoarder so we still have them. 

Next to the train bins are Timmy’s vast collection of Legos.  He LOVES them.  Still does to this day.  He is a whiz at building.  I am always astonished at how quickly he can put the sets together.  Perhaps we have a budding engineer on our hands. 

He has played sports throughout his life but he’s really there more to socialize .  His true passions are sailing and aviation.  He has taken sailing camp on Lake Michigan for several years and loves to get out on the water any chance he can.

He is obsessed with planes and rockets.  He has plane tracker and rocket launch apps on his phone. He knows so much about rockets, it’s amazing.  I had to have him make me a diagram of all the launch pads across the country just to keep up with him!  Our good friend Casey is a pilot and recently was able to get Timmy up flying in a Cessna.  He even got to fly it for a few minutes.  He was in heaven! 

Above and beyond all the things he likes, Timmy is a kind, gentle soul.  He has a huge heart and loves his family fiercely.  And he is a funny kid, which I also have heard from his coaches and teachers.  While junior high is challenging, Timmy continues to overcome adversity and does his best to show compassion to those around him. And though he doesn’t remember the transplant (Thank God), the bravery he exhibited then continues to shine through today. 

I also can’t help but think of all the moments we have shared together – those that may seem mundane but are the ones I hope he remembers when he’s my age. For example,

for those that know me, it’s no secret I like to sing and dance. I’ve been singing to him since day one and every day I try to introduce him to a new song. One of my favorite things that we still do today are our dance parties in the kitchen where we sing and “shake our booties.”  He’s my favorite dance partner – and a stellar dancer! 

And I have to share this funny story.  In addition to music, I often share things from TV shows or movies that I love or that make me laugh. Throughout his life, I’ve always chanted the hilarious cheer from the movie Bring It On (I said…Brrr, it’s cold in here).  I’m always cold, so I will just randomly say to him, “I said…Brrr” and he completes the cheer.  We were at his basketball game a few weeks and the cheerleaders for the other team did that cheer.  We locked eyes from across the court and both just started laughing.  It. Was. Awesome.

And my Timmy is awesome.  I can’t wait to see what the next 13 years bring for my sweet boy.  Love you, kiddo!