Colin mows lawn!

Just in case you are starting to worry that I've forgotten Colin this week, I haven't. The trouble is he's all pre-teen now. He's going to be 11 next week, and he's trying very hard to not be noticed lest he be pushed into service with some sort of chore.

Here he is delighted to be mowing the lawn:

"Delighted" may not be entirely the truth, but he did it.

Our dear friend Merle, who works with the airline industry gave Colin a pair of honest-to-goodness tarmac guy orange ear muffs when he was small. I cannot tell you how many thunderstorms and other loud noises those things have saved us from. Last year they were the gotta have it ear protection for a guy forced to mow lawn. This year, his concern about how he looks to the neighbors seems to outweigh any bothersome lawn mower noise.

It's a bittersweet thing. My baby is aware that some of what feels causes him to act in ways that make him stand out from the crowd. What an awful thing to understand. Yet, my child is also learning that there are times when he can take control of his behavior, even if he doesn't particularly feel like it.

It's a lesson some "normal" adults I know could use.