Thirteen
Dear son, Last of the year but not least. Your turn, my dear Advent boy. Celebrating the anniversary of your arrival in this world is an opportunity to pause and reflect about my own 13 years of age that feel like centuries ago. Compared to me, you seem to be navigating some of the youth challenges fairly well. For one thing, I was not the skilled soccer player that you are. It is always such a joy for me to see my sons succeed where I struggled. That is from the outside, I get it. Everything might look great: good grades, good soccer performance, satisfying social life. From the inside, I have no clue. Only you know. And I want to remind you that I am there. That there might be chapters of my story that you can relate to. For instance, as I was reflecting in anticipation of my birthday wishes for you in the form of this blog, I remembered losing a grandparent when I was about your age. My first significant loss of a family member. At that age, I saw people sad around me. I felt ...