William, who is now solidly a middle-schooler, turned 12 this spring. He’s come out of his shell a bit this year (as much as any introverted, anxious, perfectionist can). He started participating in chess club after school and was able to represent his middle school at the district chess tournament. He won 4 of his 7 matches and had some pretty close games. The middle school placed third in the tournament so that was cool. He also played Jr Jazz for the first time over the winter. Jr Jazz is a Utah rec basketball league that’s very popular (the name comes from the Utah Jazz professional team). He played with one of his friends, and for his first time playing basketball he did well and enjoyed himself. He continues to play rec soccer in the spring and fall and ski during the winter. He took swimming lessons last summer and greatly improved his skills in that regard as well.
William the middle schooler is also solidly a tween boy. We’ve got attitude. We’ve got acne. We’ve got no ability to read the room. We’re not super thankful or super helpful most days–but can actually be really helpful when we want to be. Jason seems to think they make teens like this to make sure we’re ready for him to leave the nest some day.
At 12, William is 5 feet tall. He wishes he was growing faster and is frustrated that Christopher’s growth is outpacing him. Jason and I have explained that slow and steady is the way to go with regards to growing–those fast growth spurts can be PAINFUL. Not everything needs to be a competition but with 3 boys all 2 years apart it tends to be.
Overall William is growing into an excellent young man–just don’t tell him that straight away as it will surely go to his head. He’s a straight A student, excellent big brother (when he wants to be) and excels at almost anything he is willing to try. Happy 12th Birthday to my Wilbaer!
