To Theo at Ten

Dear Theo,

I'm afraid I'm slowly growing less cool in your eyes this year, which makes me a little sad.  But whatever else you might be, you're just as much my little potato now as you were when you were actually the same size (okay maybe a little bigger) as a little potato. You've done a great job transitioning to a new school this year, and I'm proud of the friends you've made (thanks for letting us meet them at your birthday party!).  Every year you get better at reining in your emotions, at working things out on your own, and at seeing the world through the eyes of others--at least a little bit. 

Some of my favorites about you right now are:

• You have an unholy obsession with duct tape.  It was pretty cute when it started--nice wallets, by the way.  The shoes, however?  With laces and real soles (cut from another pair of your shoes)?  I'm interested to see where this goes.
• I seriously can't believe you figured out how to play the Diary of a Wimpy Kid theme on the piano.  It's hard!  And syncopated!  This may be why it's so hard for me to feel like I can teach you anything anymore.
• You do fantastic voices.  I hope you pursue this dream of yours to take up some acting--heaven knows you can do drama, and your vocal imitation skills are pretty spectacular.
• I love seeing you with big fat books!  I'm so glad you've embraced my love of all things Harry Potter this year, and I can't wait to see the last movie with you!
• You can memorize just about everything.  I sort of love that your most recent memorization is We Didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel.  Of course, I can't tell you how much I like Billy Joel or it would probably completely wreck it for you.
• You make us laugh!  On purpose, every day.  Of course, often we have to nudge you away from the rather prevalent potty humor.  But still.  You're a funny kid!
• I love the conversations we can have now.  You've learned how to think about things from more than one perspective, and you're just an interesting person to talk to!
• Your room . . . has been looking cleaner.  It's like that episode of Hoarders that I made you watch a while back actually sunk in.  Who knew you could keep things in order?
• I know your competitive spirit will take you places one day!  I do wish it didn't take you to Troubletown with me so often, though.
• You're one of the better ten-year-old cooks I know.

We wish you the best in the coming year, Theo!  I hope tweenagerhood is mostly good times for you!

Love, Mom