I know that now, after four sons, but I will admit that I was shocked when weapons abruptly sprang into our lives. We went to visit a friend whose son owned a veritable arsenal of plastic guns, and our child, who had been flatly deprived of these things, was hooked. We were no closer to buying them but he made do with branches and Legos. Life was never the same after that.

 

I sometimes wonder if people who marry in the epoch of adoration that so conveniently arrives early in the relationship are surprised when it wanes. I mean how many couples ten years in are still holding hands under the table? A few are, surely, but many are too busy keeping their kids from kicking under the table. It does not mean that you made a mistake. It is just a different season. 

 

Little boys eventually tire of playing Batman, though my thirteen year old was Woody again for Halloween. He is on his own timeline. Most of them move on to rollerblading and cars. We had one son who was riding his skateboard sans helmet and actually zoomed past a friend in her car going down hill. I went white when she told me. 

 

I did not envision ever fighting with John when we were in our thirties because we had no reason to fight when we were falling in love. But that is like assuming that since newborns do not talk back, your twelve year old won't either.