Eli went to lunch.

My super cute 13 year old son was giddy today. Is is possible to describe a 13 year old boy as giddy? Well, this boy was giggling, bouncing and jovial. I didn't think it was quite possible to hear an actual giggle come from a boy with an often off pitched voice due to puberty, but today, I saw it happen.

And I wasn't sure whether I wanted to laugh or cry. So I did both.

Here's the story. Eli has a certain friend. "She" is a cutie. We all go to the same church together, and I know that Eli and "she" are really good friends.

Her dad invited Eli to go to lunch with them today after church services.

Eli runs thru the parking lot, finds me and tells me what happened.... "Mom, her dad invited me to lunch with them. DoyouhavemoneycanIgopleasepleaseplease?!?!"

What he said next brought me tears...

"Its a magnificent and marvelous moment."

I went and found Dave so he could witness Eli's giddy-ness, then we borrowed some money for Eli's lunch (a boy can't go broke, and he also kept saying "I wish I had my wallet"). My boy was a little nervous. He asked me to go with him to meet her parents so they would know it was ok. So I did. Her mother was laughing so hard. She knows the situation.

Off he went, in the car, to lunch - with this girl who is his "friend" and her parents.

Lot's of times, he doesn't need me. He can make his own food and do his own laundry. But today - just for a moment, he needed me and he needed my support. That one phrase "Come with me, Mom" meant so much. I know that my job as a parent is to raise a productive adult - but, boy - this is hard. I hate letting go. I guess it would be easier if I could prepare. But some things hit you when you aren't looking. This sweet little boy who stared at me with those big blue eyes the first time I held him, who resisted when I taught him to read, who loved me to sing him "our special song" until age 7 - he is really growing up. I knew how sad I was a couple of weeks ago when he officially hit the teenage years - but today it hit me like a ton of bricks.