"See! I TOLD you everything will change!"

 Our lives are rapidly changing now that Hunter is in high school. He's got new found independence and social circles he's enjoying. We watched our "little boy" join the Cross-Country team with more passion that he's shown yet for any other sport or activity he's been involved in. He had been practicing for months, running either on the treadmill or in the neighborhood approximately 4-5 times a week and 2-4 miles each time. We're so proud of his accomplishment and watching him hone his athleticism.

But that's not the only thing he's honing these days. He's working on his social skills too. Hunter has never been lacking in that area, but it's now expanded into social media and things that I've never heard of like snapchat and other catchy phrases meant to imply an online community of some sort. The most social media outlets I'm involved with are old news now . . . facebook, LinkedIn and the occasional tweet on twitter.

Donna and I have been fortunate enough to attend the first two meets of the season.  The first one was a definite learning experience for all of us. We were learning about how the heats were organized and saw a bunch of kids head out first. Another parent explained that they were the freshman athletes. We were a bit concerned that we didn't see Hunter in the pack, but soon learned that Hunter's dedication allowed him to run with the varsity team. Another proud moment.

His most recent meet resulted in Hunter shaving off two minutes from his original time. He was so proud. And Donna and I were congratulating him at the end of the finish line when a very confident young woman from a neighboring school district said, "Good job, Hunter. . .you looked good out there."

Imagine the three "women" in Hunter's life all reacting at the same moment to that interaction. Hunter thanked her and Donna, Skye, and I immediately descended on him, wondering who she was, how old she was and other nagging questions. I'm not even confident that the young woman was out of earshot before we surrounded him. We learned she was a senior and that another member of Hunter's team was envious that he had spoken to her. Hunter's response to his friend was, "Yeah, man. . . I talked to her. . . I'm not a wimp!"

Skye's not the only girl congratulating Hunter

I love his confidence. What summed up the whole exchange was Skye's reaction in the car on the way home. She said to Hunter, "See!!! I told you everything will change! You just think you're never going to get married, but more things like this will happen. Just watch!" Although a bit on the melodramatic side, she verbalized everything that Donna and I were feeling.

She's right. Everything will change, and all I can hope is that as his independence grows, he will still need us for the important stuff and that we'll figure out how to give him space without loosening the grip our love has on his heart.  So far, so good. . .but we're only one semester in.