Too Old for Toys and Spongebob Underwear

After a week long celebration of Allison's birthday this year, I asked Michael if there was anything he was thinking about that he wanted for his birthday.  He sighed, and basically expressed that he was kind of getting too old for Legos and was not old enough for "an iTunes gift card or whatever comes next."  We came up with a few intangibles, like rock climbing sessions, or dinner out.  Response? Shrug. I also suggested prescription sports goggles, as he has mangled his glasses a few times at soccer games and practices.  He kind of got excited about these, which for some reason made me feel a little twinge of guilt.

I remember taking a good look at Michael's hands several years ago and suddenly noticing that his baby dimples had disappeared.  I don't normally get nostalgic about things, but something in me wailed, "NOOOOOOO!  My little boy!"  The iTunes gift card conversation was remniscent of this. I ended up getting him some gag gifts, and The Philosophy Book, which he actually really likes (I know this because he reads it all the time- I don't make this stuff up. He's weird.), even though he can't pronounce any of the philosophers' names correctly.

Michael, it's pronounced SOCK-ruh-tees.

No, Mom, it's sew-CRATES. 

Uh, no. It's SOCK-ruh-tees. Ask your father if you don't believe me.

So I shouldn't have been surprised when he commented on the clean Lightning McQueen Sheets on his bed tonight. "Mom, those ones with the green stripes? Those are fine.  I don't know about these Lightening McQueen sheets.  I mean, they're fine, I guess."  Yeah, okay, I guess I should have known better.  Like when I noticed he was purging his underwear drawer of all his Spongebob Squarepants boxers.

What are you doing?

I'm getting rid of my old underwear. They're too small.

Seriously?

Yeah, these all leave red marks on my waist, plus I'll be in middle school soon and I'm pretty sure middle schoolers don't wear Spongebob Underwear.

(Feeling another twinge of guilt for not noticing the red marks) Middle school? You're in 3rd grade!

Yeah, and next year I'll be in 4th grade, and 5th grade after that. Middle school is only 2 years away. 

My husband pointed out that I will have had my fill of baby hand dimples by the time the twins lose theirs, and I'm sure he's right about that.  In the meantime, with the twins still under two, I am reluctantly transitioning into tween-dom, even though he's not even in double digits yet. I even asked him about a DS, but thankfully he wasn't interested in that. "Mom.  Kids are always losing their DSs, and plus I prefer to read."  Not that I was going to get him one anyway. Hopefully the optometrist will call this week to let us know the prescription sports goggles have arrived.

Alternatively, maybe these will still fit him.