Tween Angst

I just went a whole month without posting! Adolescence has struck and suddenly everything I do or say is embarrassing or trauma inducing, whether in person or online. A few weeks ago, Warren sent me this text: Jiro is in his room crying because of a picture you put on Instagram.

What!?

It was a cute picture of him in a wrestling mask from forever ago. Jiro isn't even on Instagram! But Satchel is, and in an effort to manage his own online presence, he was going through my photos. Finding nothing that embarrassed him, he decided to torture his brother.

Nice, huh?

By the time I got home, Jiro was calm and over it. I told him that I would never do anything to intentionally embarrass him and as his mother I pretty much thought everything he did was cute and/or noteworthy.

But I'll tell you, getting either of them to pose for a photo is getting harder and harder.

Speaking of Instagram, that seems to be Satchel's social media channel of choice. It's mostly good because he hardly ever looks at Facebook, where I do most of my sharing, and he seems to have forgotten about this blog. (I rue the day that he realizes just how mortifying his mother's penchant for writing and sharing is! But also, I imagine at some point, assuming he doesn't hack in and destroy everything, he will someday--albeit a much later one--appreciate my efforts.)

His interest in Instagram peaked over winter break when he discovered the account of a girl that used to live down the street. Suddenly he was staring at his phone more than Warren and I put together! Then there was talk of a group date to Yolo & a movie (which never happened) and now he is going to the school dance with her on Friday. ("With her" means he will go with a male friend and she will be there and he may or may not speak to her.)

He hasn't officially admitted who he is going to the dance with, but I know. (They don't call me Nancy Jew for nothing!) It is driving Jiro absolutely crazy that Satch won't confess to him. Satch doesn't want to be teased, rightfully so, but we do both giggle when Jiro cracks jokes like, "Are you going to call __ and talk about your feelings and emotions?"

I'm just happy that Satchel seems to like someone! The more Jiro's social calendar fills up (I barely see him on the weekends!), the more Satchel seems to prefer to be at home alone. But I guess being home alone really translates into surfing Instagram, texting, playing games online with friends, and whatnot.

It's a strange new world. One in which my baby (!!) wears deodorant and spends waaay too much time fixing his hair!