Easily Excitable

I planted a garden back in February. The majority of the planting took place on the 14th (happy Valentine’s day to me, right?!), but we did some more planting the following week. The weather was perfect, so Zayden was hard at work planting onions, and Mama sat near the garden to make sure the dogs did right. 

Shocker- They didn’t: Buddy and Boone were in rare (and destructive) form.

The brussel sprouts still haven’t recovered from their tomfoolery. As they laid, sat, and ran all over the plants, Zayden said, no less than 20 times, “I don’t think the garden’s going to make it.”

As we ended our work and put up the tools, Zayden topped it all off with, “I just don’t know what’s going to happen with all this, now that the kids are finished with it.”

The kids? What? This from a 10 year old?!

He’s an old man at heart. 

This past week, Zayden celebrated his 11th birthday. 

He may have turned 11, but many of his sayings and mannerisms are more on par with an 81 year old. 

Anyone who knows him may love him, but you’re all the more aware of the fact that this child never shuts up. I’ve been fully educated in areas such as magnetic fishing, all manner of Youtube videos, Madden games, iCivics, and Pokemon. 

Zayden’s a simple guy: he’s decided he wants to be either a lawyer, a teacher, an NFL player, or a preacher. Lord help us all. 

If you think for one second he wants to be a teacher because of me, don’t you dare fall for that inclination: after telling us he wanted to be a teacher, he told us it was so he could roast the kids who deserved it, as well as give worksheets to kids he didn’t like. 

I didn’t fall for a second into that trap that he was being kind. 

Zayden likes baseball, loves football, and would eat nothing but candy if he could. 

He adores Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, and he reads every chance he gets. 

Last month, Zayden explained to me all the cuss words he knows (he hasn’t learned that there are some things you just don’t tell adults), and because of his innocence, used that time to tell me about the moments he’s said those cuss words to himself.

I wanted to tell him to stop, but honestly, I was so intrigued by his inner-dialogue unleashed by dropping a snowcone that I let him keep going. Don’t worry: this situation happened last year (his words, not mine).

He did, however, make sure to say things like ‘the a-word,’ rather than the cuss words themselves. Small mercies

He’s come a long way. That’s something I’ve thought a lot about this past week. 

Once upon a time, Zayden prayed nightly that we’d win the War for Freedom (the Revolutionary War).

He’s grown a lot physically, having officially cleared 5 ft.: he’s that and some change now. Zayden’s also thickened up a bit, as we’re not quite to the teenager stretch-out just yet. 

Also, praise the Lord, his athletic ability has improved too. He’s still got the coordination of a baby giraffe, but when we first started throwing the football, he was a disaster. 

The throwing? That was okay. 

The catching? That was nonexistent. 

Zayden’s a lot better now, albeit a lot showier. If there is ever a moment he can catch a ball one-handed (even when two would do just fine) or dive for a ball (when standing would have done the trick), he will not hesitate to do just that. 

In addition to the physical stuff, his interests have changed too: 

Once upon a time, we were all about Pokemon cards. When we went to Walmart, he wanted to go to the toys section. Last week, when he went grocery shopping with me, he skipped right over the toys section. 

Instead, he wanted to look at tools. That seems very grown-y to his aunt who’s used to him wanting to go look at keychains that poop when you squeeze them. 

He loves video games, fishing, reading, and building forts. 

What’s more, a few months ago, Zayden got a bike, so he’s been able to come up to our house more than before. He’ll circle the trailer a few times a day, just to check in. Boone loves it, and I’m glad he’s getting that first hit of freedom that’ll one day turn into a driver’s license.

He’s also showing interest in his elders’ wisdom: 

Recently, we were sitting around the table, and Daddy and Momma were talking about college. Zayden took that moment to ask, “So, what do you do on the weekends when you’re in college?”

Well. 

We all just kind of looked at each other- Momma, Daddy, Trey, and me. Because we know what we did on the weekends in college, and it was not pleasing unto the Lord. 

Thank goodness Gran was there at the table- she, the purest one among us- and said, “You hang out with your friends.”

I don’t know that Gran went to college, but she saved us, at worst, a lie and, at best, a lot of questions. 

Zayden’s color coordination has gotten some better, too. 

He picks out his own clothes, and for the most part, he does a pretty good job.

 This is a big change from where he was a couple years ago. Once, Momma and I were standing outside, and she told Zayden to get dressed (I’m sure he was enjoying the sunshine in nothing but his underwear- one of the joys of the country). 

He went inside, and he came back outside wearing a highlighter orange shirt and a pair of neon teal shorts. I guess in his mind bright goes with bright? 

He’s at least matching his clothes now (even if he’s apt to wear things that are a little too small from time to time).

He doesn’t talk to the dead anymore. 

 I say that jokingly. Zayden never talked to the dead: mainly, he just doesn’t talk to things we can’t see anymore. 

Once, when Momma and Daddy went to a Georgia game (it was the Rose Bowl. I wasn’t invited. I’m not bitter.), and they left Zayden with Hanna, Walker, and me. After a couple of days, Hanna and Walker had to leave, meaning it was only Zayden and me.

One night, as I was tucking him in, Zayden said, “Memmie?”

In that moment, I just knew he was going to tell me how much he loved me- how much fun he’d had during our day together. 

I responded,  “Yeah, buddy?” 

He then said, “Who is that behind you?”

I wanted to leave him there and evacuate the house. I really did. I thought I was about to crawl out of my skin. 

Zayden hasn’t had a ‘creeper kid’ moment in quite some time, thank the Lord. 

He’s also growing in his interests at school. 

In third grade, Zayden realized he could share Google Docs and slides with me. He’s done just that ever since. There is an immense Google Slides powerpoint he’s been working on for two years.

It’s simply called “Memes,” and in Zayden’s mind, it’s a work of art. It has- I kid you not- 128 slides and is replete with all manner of transitions and slide artwork. 

Something new he’s begun this year, though, is a food blog: it’s a Google Doc, but several days, he’s written about the meals he’s eaten. Some of my favorite phrases? 

“The fries were mushy yet had a distinct taste that tasted like mushy Zaxby’s fries and tasted a little different.”

“…tasted like spinach and toilet water.” 

“Last but certainly not least was the tater tots, they were crunchy, salty, and tangy everything we could have asked for…” 

“First it was as sweet as candy then hot as a pepper.” 

I showed this to my kids, and we critiqued his grammar. 

I try to encourage him, but I always give him a little list of things we can focus and work on. I did, however, show my students that his sentence variation was better than his. They really loved that. 

What’s more, Zayden’s friends now write on his Google Docs, and some even share their work with me. I don’t really understand how that happened, but thank goodness I have even more papers to read: I was really starting to get bored at my job!

Whenever I teach these kids, it’ll be great to show them what their work looked like in fourth grade. 

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from him this year, it’s this: 

When talking to Zayden (and maybe this is with all young boys), you cannot expect any real progress in the conversation if you are still.

If I want him to tell me something, there has to be activity involved. Typically, for us? 

That involves throwing the football- throwing a lot of it, in fact. That also includes gardening. 

It’s easier to have harder conversations when you aren’t looking someone in the eye. 

It’s hard to believe our guy is almost a middle schooler. 

We are T-minus TWO YEARS from the teenage years. How did that time fly so fast?! A couple more blinks, and Zayden will be in high school with me. I don’t know that either of us is ready for that to happen. 

I know this: I am certainly a better teacher to the boys in my classes because of Zayden. Seeing how a little boy acts? 

It makes the grown ones at least a little easier to understand.

Happy 11th Birthday to Zayden. You are a blessing to us!