Dear Ben,

Fifteen.  Tomorrow you'll be FIFTEEN.  How is that even possible?  Every year seems to take me by surprise, but now that I am solidly looking up at you and watching you navigate the world much more as a young man and less as a boy, it's hard to ignore that you are really growing up.

The past year has been another full of struggles and weirdness in the world.  Covid is still very much a presence, but life has been getting back to normal in small steps.  You went back to school in-person in the spring and were able to finish your freshman year surrounded by classmates and a semblance of regular routine.  The end of the school year brought vaccine approval for your age group, and finally our whole family could feel a sense of protection and the ability to breathe a little easier venturing back into the world.  During the summer, we were able to enjoy some vacations, you hung with friends, you were hired for your first real job at Libby's Orchard (while continuing to work some hours at the boat launch), and summer soccer was in full swing.

When the school year started, you jumped right in.  You worked hard with your soccer team, devoting most of you non-school hours to practices and games.  You have a full schedule of challenging courses, as well as an extra college math that you are doing after hours in your own time.  You have joined a cyber security team, developing your interests in computer programming, and you are a part of the math team as well.  You even spend one block of your schedule serving as a teaching assistant in a STEM class.  

Even though things aren't totally back to normal (and I'm sure you look forward to the time when masks don't need to be worn in school and usual events like dances and team dinners can happen again), you continue to take it all in stride and make the best of every situation.  We are very proud of the adaptability and maturity you have shown in your understanding of new rules and safety guidelines even when they aren't fun and we're all, frankly, pretty sick of them.  You bring humor with you everywhere you go, and you are a genuinely kind-hearted person.  While you sometimes need a little nudge with time-management or motivation, you do have an eye toward your future and are growing more responsible with every new challenge.

But as big as you are getting, I'm happy you're still not too big for couch snuggles and big hugs every morning and night.  Because no matter how grown you get, you're still MY little boy.

Love you so much.

Mama