One Little Kid
The passage of time.
My middle child turned 13 years old last week. I now have two teenagers in the house.
I started writing about parenting when my oldest was only a few weeks old. I remember the sleepless nights, the potty training, kid birthday parties, and so much more.
The easiest years were elementary school. The kids were self-sufficient. They had Big Feelings, but they were still mostly childlike feelings. They were past the point of screaming tantrums on the floor.
Even when the pandemic hit – an unbelievably difficult time as a parent – we were ok. My kids get along for the most part, and we did what we could isolated in our house for a year.
Teenagers are a lot harder. They have Bigger Feelings. They're trying to figure out who they are in the world. Both little kids and big kids don't understand when you say "no" but they react in different ways.
Teenagers need to be driven around a lot. We kept our activities to a minimum when they were little. But middle school and high school have introduced school groups and clubs. I feel like the family chauffeur.
Today, my oldest kid was at a friend's house. My middle child isn't feeling well, so hung out in his room. And my littlest was playing on the kitchen floor. She's only 7 years old – still a little kid. She was playing with a 3D puzzle, trying to build a tower.
She's my only kid who still plays with toys. My middle child will assemble Legos, but not really play with them. He puts the assembled creations on display in his room but that's it.
My youngest has dolls strewn all over her floor. She has toys stuffed onto the shelves in her room. And though she likes simple chapter books, she still likes to look at picture books sometimes.
When I say the words, "I have two teenagers" it feels like such a marked passage of time.
Anna Burgess Yang
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