Teenage or any age

ASid has many friends; however, only a few have become family friends as well. 2 of the latter are N1 and N2. In the last couple of months, both N1 and N2 have acquired girlfriends. Hans feels sorry for ASid for not having accomplished the same!

I do not believe there should be any pressure on the boy to find a girlfriend - not from his friends and definitely not from his 9 year old younger brother. On the same note, there is nothing wrong with being solo. There is enough pressure in high school! And ASid can barely manage his time with what little he has on his plate.

And frankly, I am happy to not have to deal with more teen drama than I currently deal with! Hans is like 3 teens in one little boy! I actually am beginning to dread the day the boy is officially a teen. But it will be some sort of pay back for all the melodrama I unleashed on my parents during my own teenage years.

Even as I prepare myself for that karmic curse to manifest itself, I sadly acknowledge that I make my teenage years sound really terrible with tales of heartache or with allusions to my parents' headaches. It was all that for sure, but it was also a wonderfully crazy time with tons of positive memories. Just this morning, I got a note from the boy (who will forever be a boy in my mind) who is the cause of all sorts of aches and pains from that time.

So, this eternal boy wanted to know how I was doing?! Apparently he was listening to a song that reminded him of me. Music does that to us! It is haunting and takes us back to places from our past. For me, quite a bit of music from the late 80s and early 90s takes me back to this eternal boy. He used to make "mix tapes" for me. For the longest time, listening to those songs anywhere would upset me to no end; then, one day, I could separate the songs from the eternal boy and appreciate the Music for what it is. Still, there are memories and these days, I focus on the positive ones.

So, how was I doing?! I let the eternal boy know that I am busy with life and doing quite well. He thanked me for being a part of his life and I was able to genuinely reciprocate that feeling. It felt good. As I move on in life, my hope is that I age with few regrets and with a capacity to forgive people.

Teenage is a period of change and transformation. Some of us get a lot more to deal with than others. No matter what, it is an exciting time. I hope the boys take some risks. I am not saying they should go and do anything harmful to themselves. I simply hope they get to actually live through this short and intense period of their lives, and experience it and remember it fondly for all it has to offer - the acne, the awkward voice changes, the body odour, the mood changes, the first real crush, the first love, the first kiss, the first heartbreak and many other firsts.

As many firsts as the boys will encounter in their teens, there will be other firsts, some seconds, and even thirds later on. I guess the gist of it is to enjoy all opportunities that life has to offer at every age. I really hope the boys give themselves a chance to win some and lose some.

On that note, happy birthday to Sir B/UB – the best risk-taker I know! The boys are lucky to have him as a role model.