Smells Like Teen Spirit

Oh, where to begin. Alex. Alex has been kind enough to inform us that he is in "The Puberty." Frankly, I appreciate the heads up because if I'm in the path of a tidal wave, I tend to like to see it coming. Plus, we already live with one person who's mood swings rival the Incredible Hulk's, so it's awfully nice that he let us know in advance that he's about to join the Big Leagues of bat-shit crazy.

Alex is completely mesmerized with the idea of going through puberty. He's seriously discussed his disappointments (more than once) in not having braces or crutches, glasses or hearing aides; Puberty is an oddity that he won't be cheated out of. And he's stoked.

We decided to support Alex's new self-appointed phase by buying him his very own deodorant which quickly became a most prized possession. The first time he put it on, we cheered him on like he was taking his first steps and he beamed in pride. He's oddly mesmerized by the little stick and he's been known to declare, Well, I think I'll go put on my deodorant now, and then come back giving us the play-by-play and asking us to smell him for good measure.There are excited displays of invisible hair on still baby-soft skin that he's sure he'll need to shave soon,and proclamations that his Adam's apple has grown slightly bigger overnight, and he's right..... all-too-soon this beautiful boyish wonder will morph into the next phase of things and it breaks my heart a little.I delight in the boyhood of this eccentric little soul and I'm suddenly very grateful that these things happen incrementally.

For now, Alex still scolds Tim when he catches him sitting slack-jawed and unresponsive during Victoria's Secret commercials. OK. So we're not in the big leagues quite yet.