With Maturity New Interests Come

Alexander turned 15 in May.  As he has matured over the last few years, his interests have changed.  Where he once spent hours upon hours playing video games and Legos, I don't see him sitting in front of the XBOX quite as often and he recently packed up all of his Lego's.

With maturity new interests come.  There is the computer of course, with Facebook and YouTube, but I see him needing more.  He likes having a book to read that makes him think and often takes it with him in case he gets bored.  Sophia and I were giving him a hard time on Friday when he brought a book with him to the horse races.  In between races he sat and read.  Besides books and YouTube videos that support the ideas he is searching for, he also needs to meet people that challenge his mind.  He is beginning to branch out to new people and new situations without any hesitation. 

I recently took him to a group we found on a meet up site.  The group is made up of all adults who came together at a restaurant to talk about politics, the economy, education, religion, and more.  He loved it despite the fact that he was the only teen!  Actually he felt more comfortable than me because these are the topics that interest him, not me.

I had to laugh the other day because I needed to attend a work meeting that was an hour drive away.  In all I was gone about four hours.  While I was gone, he did some research online.  The minute I walked through the door he bombarded me with questions and information he had gathered.  I had to stop him and tell him I was on overload.  My brain was tired and honestly could not keep up with everything he was sharing.  He has so many questions about the Constitution, governments around the world, decisions that have been made by our world leaders, science, etc, etc.  It is amazing how his mind just never stops.

This week he has been outside doing some woodwork.  We are painting his room in July and he is creating some new pieces for his room.  He has also been cleaning out his room getting rid of things he has held onto for years.  You can see the excitement in him as he rids himself of who he was and embraces his new, more mature self. 

For me, it is really exciting and strangely as he gets older and needs more outside influence, I don't feel he needs me any less.  He still needs me to be a springboard for his ideas even when he knows a ton more than I do on the topic.  He still needs me to be his supporter in meeting people that reflect who he is right now, and he still needs me to guide him in how to find a variety of people and resources that will feed his needs to learn.  I shared with another mom that other day that I have recently felt that I need to be home more for my kids.  I teach 18-22 hours, but suddenly it seems like too much.  It seems like I need to be home for the moments that my kids need me because now that they are teens, those moments of needing me are more sporadic.  When and how both Alexander and Sophia need me varies with each day and being away from home doesn't allow us the spontaneity of when you are home all the time.   My summer break from teaching will come at the end of June.  I am looking forward to it and the time I have watching my kids grow and mature!