So my middle son, the athletic one, the Gemini prone to whiplash-fast mood swings, is 13 today. Something about that number echoes with doom--parents beware, here comes the pain, etc. But it's not as bad as all that; in fact, I'll take 13 over 12 any day. In the last few weeks, my boy has moved beyond most of his seriously obnoxious behaviors (eye rolling, sighing, tantrums of epic proportions over seemingly minor concerns like a cheerful morning greeting). He's almost human these days, almost civilized. He may live to see 14.

Part of his celebration included amassing a gang of several other teenage boys from his various soccer teams and doing what boys do best: goofing around. Soccer game on tv, quickly abandoned for sweaty backyard soccer in the heat of the day, then a lovely rousing round of hide-and-go-seek (during which I hid in my room and read), all lavishly supplied with beverages and delivery pizza and Doritos.

The best part, though, was the pick-up soccer games at the local high school, a summer tradition for players present and past. Watching the younger boys take the field with the older high school- and college-age players, I realized how brave my boy and his friends are, how beautifully confident and willing to take a challenge. Younger by at least two years than the others and standing at least a head shorter than all of them, these new teenagers boldly played the beautiful game with grace and skill, doggedly keeping pace with the game. Of course the more seasoned and developed seniors outstripped the youngsters when they truly turned on the juice, but the kids made some sweet plays of their own.

I got special joy out of watching the whole series of 10-minute gamelets unfold because the young men (and women) were almost all former students of mine--some dating back to my 8th grade class in 2000. My nostalgia for my sweetly awkward middle school darlings combined with my pride in the adults those kids have become added a special glow of...something...to my enjoyment of the athleticism on display. And the greetings from those sweaty guys--now with beards and unbelievably grown-up faces--after the games let me know they were glad to see me, too. It was well worth the din (and smell) of eight teenagers crammed into my truck on the way home.

How the hell did this happen? I promise it's really supposed to be late April--really. Somehow I've missed about 3 weeks of valuable mental time. The last day of school hit me like a day-old fish slapped across my face. Gross, unexpected, truly shocking, and slightly smelly. I'm still trying to wash the feeling out of my mental pores.

And now I've got to figure out what to do with my older kids for the next 10 weeks or so--is it too late for boot camp? I mean, neither of the little angels managed to get a decent GPA between them, and the adolescent sighing and eye rolling is becoming toxic around here. I feel like calling my mother daily to apologize for my own teenage angst: "Thank you for not killing me, Mom! You are a saint with a scotch-and-water." When she cursed me with my own teenagers, I only rolled my eyes and muttered, "What-ev-er" with a long suffering sigh (a self-fulfilling prophecy, that). So I'm stuck with boy adolescents with time on their hands. Argh.

The little one will be so easy: summer camp and hooray! I get to go swimming every day! What could be better? Why do we let them live beyond age 9???

I propose a serious revision to the calendar, something that will take into account the natural slide of memory and attention as we age. We need a holiday or national notification-- something that will serve as a warning of the upcoming summer break--something I can't miss when I'm immersed in some damn project or other (prom? exams? grading 80,000 essays?). But this year, I'll just have to suffer along with my teenagers. Can I whine, too? I guess I'll just practice my Momish responses:

Mo-oooooooo-m, I'm soooooooooooooo bored! Only boring people get bored.

What's there to do? You could clean (or do laundry, or read a book, or walk the dog...).

Can't we just go OUT? Sure--go right outside. It's a beautiful day.

Ohmagod, Mom, why are you so mean? It's my job.

How am I doing??