Jonathan's Dynamite at 13

This past week, my oldest son turned thirteen. He entered the dreaded teenage years. He's on his way to adulthood. That slow, am I ever gonna get there, track to adulthood. The one you think you've finished long before you really have. I cannot believe thirteen years have passed since he was born. I remember that night (and very early morning - he was born at 12:35 AM) of labor like it was yesterday. Which I think says something for my memory. Even at 40, I'm doing OK.

It wasn't just his entry into teenhood that amazed me. He also took part in his school's talent show. The talent he chose to showcase was performing the Napoleon Dynamite dance. So, clad in a curly blond wig, large metal frame glasses, jeans, a Vote For Pedro tshirt, and boots made out of the inside of his rollerblades, he performed without pause, the dance he'd watched on Youtube and learned within a two day period. Not only is he a really quick study but he has absolutely no fear of performing in front of people. I have no idea where this trait came from. I can attribute his webbed toes to his father, his facial features to me, and his sense of humor probably comes from both Joe and me. But this no fear thing has me stumped. It also has me very grateful. Memories of the sheer panic I'd feel every time I had to simply answer a question out loud in class are still clear. I would have never been able to perform the Napoleon Dynamite dance in front of my school. But he did and he did it magnificently. The cheers are still playing out in my head. In fifth grade, he gave the graduation speech at his elementary school. We still run into people who heard it and continue to say how good it was. He just has that something special. Someone told me he thought Jonathan had a future in either politics or ministry. Time will only tell what the future holds. He is extremely interested in medicine so we'll just have to see. In the meantime, he's Dynamite!