Holy Crap, I'm old.

So my Oldest Son turned 10 today. I know this because he woke me up two hours before my Alarm went off to tell me. It is flabbergasting to think that I have been a parent for a decade. Even more disturbing is the realization that my time with him as a child is more than half gone. (assuming he doesn't turn into a loser that lives with his parents until he's 40 - which IS a distinct possibility at the rate he's going).

There are many things I am dreading about the next 8 years:

- The conversation where I inform him that I have spent all of his college money on diapers, happy meals, and ATV parts.....

- letting him get behind the wheel of a car knowing all of the stupid things I did when I was 16.

- The "facts of life" talk. One of the downsides of homeschooling is that I can't count on his friends at school telling him about this stuff - it is all up to me. THAT should be fun - especially since (in light of my wife's 10 pregnancies to date) I have been accused many times of not knowing them myself.

- and in general all of the stuff that comes with having a teenager in the house.

Ah, but it's not all bad. Today I am choosing to look at the bright side:

- He is now old enough to do stuff that have up until now been my responsibility - shoveling snow, yard work, cleaning the garage, etc...

- He is now old enough and has developed enough skill to join me in the activities that I enjoy - without making me want to pull my hair out. Let's face it - we all enjoy spending time with our kids, but have you ever tried to teach a little kid how to golf or ski or catch a pop fly? For a while, it can be enourmously frustrating - but rest assured it gets better.

- And he is only a couple of years away from being able to babysit his younger siblings. What happy day THAT will be.