So. Today is THE day. A day that he has waited for impatiently. A day that has crawled towards us for years. A day that I've been dreading slightly only because it brings us one step closer to the inevitable.
Today, Heathen #1 turns 18 and is legally an adult.
Yesterday, he was NOT. Today, he IS. It seems so bizarre.
Last week, he commented about how the "rules will change" when he becomes an adult - and because of the conversation we were having, he was referring to the house rules. Things such as bedtimes, curfews, etc. Those were the rules that he thought were going to change. And he said it with a smug grin on his 17-year-old face.
I simply sat and looked at him with one eyebrow cocked, never saying a word. After a minute or two, he lost the smug grin and switched it for a shit-eating grin. He chuckled and shook his head. Then he said, "No, the rules aren't going to change. What was I thinking...."
He knows me so well.
But we DID have a conversation on the rules that DO change.
He is now legally an adult. It is no longer a fight between kids - it will/can involve police and charges. It's "assault." It's permanent. It will follow you for the rest of your life.
He is an adult and is now registered to vote. It is not a random "pick," but an educated choose. And his choice will affect not on his life, but the lives of everyone else as well. So choose carefully.
He is now old enough to gamble and buy cigarettes. I recommended he never start either habit. And I informed him that the house rules for cigarettes will NEVER change. I ever catch him with them and he will EAT the entire pack.
And, while some people like to say things like "it went by in a flash," I am not one of them. There are only two things in my life that I have invested more time and effort in that I have put into raising Heathen #1. I've invested more time and effort into my relationship with the Asst. Zookeeper - because there were times that we each had to keep the other from strangling a Heathen. And I've invested more time and effort into becoming myself.
If you think about it, 18 years really isn't that much - but they are such important years. He's just a few months from graduation and starting "his" life.
Happy Birthday, Heathen #1. I may threaten to toss you out and put your stuff on the front porch. And, you may eventually do something that makes me angry enough to do it. But, you will always have a home here at the Zoo.
