Getting Ready to Disembark

Anyone who knows our son, Avery, knows that he has an impressive vocabulary and that when he speaks, he usually chooses the most technically accurate and/or literal terms to express himself.  We are well-acquainted with his style of communication, so a typical conversation with him, which might seem unusual for an 11-year-old, seems perfectly normal to us.  But every once in a while, when I reflect on some of the things he says, I do a sort of mental double-take, realizing how he sounds more like a 30-year-old professor than an 11-year-old boy!

Take, for example, this very brief interchange I had with Avery last night.  We were in the car, approaching our garage, after I had picked him up from his scout meeting.  I asked him if he could help me get the trash out for the next morning's pick up.  I told him he could either pull the large trash bin out to the driveway from the side of the house, or go inside and pick up the trash that was ready to add to the outdoor bin.

He said, "I'll take the latter."

The "latter?"  How many 11-year-old boys even know what that means?

Then it got even better.  As I was backing in to the garage, he started unbuckling his seat belt.  I glanced his way for a moment as I looked backwards, and he explained, "Just getting ready to disembark."

Disembark?  Wouldn't most people just say that they were getting ready to get out of the car?  Haha!

I just adore this kid!

Taking some selfies with my sweet Avery in the middle of a math lesson.  We were trying to lighten up a particularly loooooooong school day!

So, yeah, he's a pretty smart kid.  But he's really still just a kid!  He might talk "big," but he still giggles like a 3-year-old!  And he loves potty humor as much as the next pre-adolescent male.  And he refuses to eat tomatoes and hates to comb his hair.

But, there's something else I've noticed about him recently.  He is outgrowing his clothes a little faster than he should.  And he is sporting some muscle mass and tone that wasn't there before.  He even wears deodorant now.  And he is working harder and longer at his school work than he used to do.  In fact, yesterday, he was struggling with a writing assignment, so he took some time to be alone and think, listening to the spirit teach him how to solve the problem.  Then, he approached me with his idea for outlining things differently.  I helped him refine the formula and then he went back to work on the assignment from scratch, continuing until he had it done right.  It took a lot longer than he wanted, but he stuck with it and did a great job!

So, I guess this means he really is going to be twelve years old in less than two months!  He is poised to be ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood, which means he will be blessed with church responsibilities and assignments that will help him be part of building up the Kingdom of God on earth.  I am thrilled that he is developing the maturity and responsibility that will make him well-prepared for these new expectations.  And, really, he is actually starting to prepare to "disembark" from our home and head out to become a missionary when he is 18 years old.

But, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!  Not yet!  I'm claiming maternal rights and keeping him firmly under my wing until then!  I need that cute giggle, that amazing piano talent, those unusual recipes, and funny songs he sings around here for a LOT longer!  At the same time, I see him changing and I am both excited for him and sad to see him growing so quickly.  I adore this guy and couldn't be more proud of him.  And I just LOVE the way he talks like a walking dictionary.  He's the best!