Monday, October 25, 2010

Thirteen

Today is a milestone. I have now parented two children to their teen years. Let the fun begin!

The other day I was listening to myself talking to my boys and started wondering at exactly what point I decided that the restrictions and rules my parents imposed on me as a teen were not completely ridiculous, mean spirited, and random but were actually the result of wonderful inspiration and wisdom. I decided that parenting teens led me to that conclusion completely.

So, today Dylan is 13 years old. He's a great kid...sweet, creative, and friendly. (When we are not dealing with the pre-teen/teen angst.) He is very mechanically inclined and can fix just about anything. Just the other day, he restrung Haley's violin. He can fix a guitar like nobody's business. He just understands those kinds of things. He also got the lawn mower to work when no one else could. He comes up with neat inventions and solutions to problems.

Dylan is an amazing guitar player. In the past few years, he has blossomed on the instrument and developed an ear for figuring out chords and accompaniment. I love to listen when he's figuring out tunes on his own and making up backings to what Haley is playing. He is even branching out onto banjo and mandolin. Often Haley gets a lot of the attention when they play because she's adorable and little and is playing the melody. People often don't appreciate all that goes into accompaniment. I love when other guitar players hear him play and show him the appreciation he deserves.

It is difficult to get a picture of him without a silly face, though.

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