Cha Cha Changes

I don't know the term you use when boys
come into their own
with girls
it's blossom
girls bloom
boys?
They what?

Whatever it is they do my B is doing
and when he was itty bitty
I thought I would be sad to see this day
when he was a four year-old and I got the bad hair cut that made me really upset
and he told me I looked pretty like a girl in movies
I thought this day would be my worst
when he was a toddler and he would hover between wake and sleep
and rub the satin border of his blanket on his cheek as he slowly drifted
I thought this day would make me cry
but it's actually very exciting and fun
like watching a red ball of a baby turn into a cherub faced toddler

During wrestling this year
we noticed
B was able to build muscle
beyond his normal thin, well defined body
he was starting to actually develop and grow

Then when wrestling was over and we had to get baseball cleats
he jumped three shoe sizes
and six weeks later
two more shoe sizes
from a mens 7.5
to a mens' 10
in a matter of weeks
from 5'2" even
to 5'4 and a half in six weeks
the last 3/4 of an inch last week between a football camp physical
and getting measured in weight lifting

But beyond the physical growth
beyond the did you just drink a gallon of milk
and eat a large pizza by yourself?
beyond the
are those little tiny man biceps growing in your arms?
beyond the new found coordination and athletic ability
my sensitive smart boy
the one that likes to read sci-fi books
and has a subscription to both National Geographic and Popular Science
and wants one to Time
the one that was obsessed with Pokemon and Yu Gi Oh
with the perpetually too short pants
the one that spent hours making explosion sound effects
and created little imaginary people and wars
that wanted to name Baby G T-Rex (would have been a good name for him too)
is suddenly
much to my surprise....
the, "hot ticket," at school

I was getting a cheese burger on Sat after a day of fishing
when the Mom of a girl in B's grade approached our table
"So you know B is like the most popular boy in the school right?"
"Huh???"
Aaron and I look at each other and giggle a little
because B is what we always imagined
would be the boy that doesn't get the girl in high school
but does in college
he's a little goofy
a little too smart
a little too nice
not confident enough to be the stud on campus
"Oh ya, he's got the popular girls fighting over him."
again Aaron and I giggle a little bit
because...
really???? Are we talking about the same kid
the kid that told his 4th grade class in this hillbilly town that he wouldn't join Boy Scouts for political reasons?
The boy that still has a hard time controlling his emotions and is known to cry in public
The boys that were popular like she described when I was in school
were
dicks
to be blunt
and B is anti that guy
But what this Mom described
well
it makes sense too
she said her daughter came home from school after being out for two days sick
and said, "B asked me how I was feeling, Mom! Can you believe it? He actually noticed and cared that I was out sick."

And, it made sense
in a sea of boys who are making fun of how flat chested
or not flat chested you are
in a sea of boys that think being rude makes them cooler
B, in his, "you look like a girl in movies," way
is making the girls feel special
he's talking to them like they are people
in spite of all the hormones racing around all their little mini-adult bodies
he's acting normal
and that's setting him apart
he's not making a big deal out of the gender difference
and it's making the girls swoon

It doesn't hurt that he easily fits into the
Zac Effron pretty boy look...