6th Grade Zoomies

Flashback photo for 6th Grade Graduation

On this day twelve years ago, I had very little inkling how dramatically my life would change when I welcomed my first born into the world on a snowy May Day morning. Last night, I took quick trip down memory lane looking through photo albums to find a perfect baby photo for his upcoming sixth grade graduation ceremony slated for later this month. Throughout this past year, I've noticed a change in my now 12-year-old son. Don't panic because it's nothing bad or that requires a medical diagnosis. We've already coined this shift as a case of the "6th Grade Zoomies." This phenomenon presents itself most at times when said 6th grader is called upon for the simplest of tasks. Rather than doing the task, answering the simple question, or just paying attention in general, you'll find the 6th grader going off on a completely different tangent, often making quick movements or talking about random things that have nothing to do with the task at hand. He requires redirection at least three to five times before we can circle back to the beginning and start over. Sometimes, the entire train of thought derails and it may be several minutes before the proverbial lightbulb turns on and we get back on track. In some cases, an entirely new task has been started altogether in the time it takes for that case of the Zoomies to wear off. Interestingly enough, we are not allowed to actually talk about the 6th Grade Zoomies in front of the 6th grader nor are we able to imitate said behavior to prove a point that something weird is happening. It's quite comical and has become a running joke between me and his father. Likewise, his younger brother also chimes in his two cents whenever he can "one-up" his Zoomied out big brother. 

Don't worry about the birthday boy, though. We're pretty sure he'll snap out of this around the time he's ready to graduate college. Only six to ten more years of the Zoomies to get through. For now, we take it one day at a time, and celebrate the projects we make it through without too much Zoomie distraction. We find that fresh air, hands on projects, limited amounts of 12-year-old girls, and lots of sleep are the best remedies for this.

P.S. don't tell him you know about this because he'll be super embarrassed and probably pretty mad at his mother. He's already been snooping around my blog on his Chromebook so he'll find out soon enough.

So, here's to year 12 of motherhood and a pretty cool dude who makes me proud even if he is too poor to pay attention. Even though I'm missing those baby snuggles, I sure do love how he can manhandle a mattress into a dump trailer during tenant move-out week. Maybe catching a little case of the Zoomies myself will keep me looking to the future instead of mourning the past. He's always asking me to play hooky from work, so don't be surprised if we zoom zoom off someday for some "mom-time" as he likes to call it. Until then, keep on Zoomin' and let yourself take the path of distraction! Welcome Home.