David turned 10 years old last week. Ten is a big birthday, and I see so many changes in him. Some make me sad, though nostalgic is probably a better word, some make me proud and excited to see how he turns out, and some make me nervous.
He doesn't spend hours playing with Legos. He'd rather build a fire outside or ride his bike. While he still engages in staged fist fights in Target with his cousin, he's no longer constantly armed with an imaginary light saber.
So much about David impresses me. He has his father's brand of pure, unfiltrated honesty. I praised him for working hard at some heavy yard work at his uncle's house.
David: (frank, confessional attitude) I wouldn't have done it if we didn't have to.
Another day I came in the house and found the boys calmly voting on various options for what to play next.
Me: Boys, I love to see you working together like this.
David: (more frank confession) We were arguing like mad* about a minute ago.
Me: (laughing) David, another way to say that is, "We were negotiating loudly and then decided to vote." That's called a euphemism when you make something sound better than it is.
He came to us a few weeks ago and told us he thinks Halo Reach affects him and makes him want to hurt his brothers, and he didn't want to be in trouble all the time, and maybe he shouldn't play it anymore.** In many areas of my 36-year-old life, would that I had the maturity and insight of my 10-year-old.
At the tender age of 10, David is sure he wants to be a soldier. But he knows they don't get paid much, so he'll try to become a general in ten years or so. Despite my deep-seated fears, I'm not talking him out of his career choice directly because he's his father's son, and that would be... counterproductive. I'm not even using my sneaky, wily ways because... David doesn't belong to me. I hope this is just a 10 year old boy kind of thing, but it may not be, and I won't get in the way. God made David fierce and if, as I hope and pray, David devotes his life to pursuing God, that will involve every part of who he is.
David's birthday fell on a tough, tough week for us this year, but we rocked it out.
Donuts for breakfast
* David uses a lot of British terminology because he has listened to the Harry Potter series so many times. Somehow I can't be as firm as I should be about calling his brothers prats. It makes me giggle.
** He then immediately launched into the reasons why Call of Duty and Minecraft were fine.
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