My son is seventeen. Frankly it sort of hurts to say it out loud. It just seems like he shouldn’t be quite this close to adulthood.

In many ways he’s your average teen and in other ways he’s quite different. For one thing he’s quite bright. He just “gets” things that it takes other people a great deal of time and effort to understand. He learns complex material quickly and thoroughly, and he retains it. He also has a knack for figuring things out on his own. As a result he does fairly well in school. When he remembers to turn in assignments. Or makes sure that he completes all parts of them. Or uses the format the teacher prefers. These are the types of things that challenge him. The trivia of life.

He’s a good kid, and has a small group of good friends. He doesn’t spend a lot of time with them outside of school, though. It’s just not how he rolls. We don’t live near his school, and we haven’t been in our neighborhood long, so he doesn’t know anyone here either. It doesn’t bother him, though, he prefers his own company.

In many ways he seems younger than his nearly seventeen years, but in others he’s sort of an old soul. I suppose most teens are like that; a mix of the child they once were and the adult they’re becoming. As much as I wish I could stretch out his youth (purely for my own selfish reasons), I can’t. He growing up, like it or not.

I’m just not ready to let him go quite yet. The good news is that he’s not ready to go quite yet. I have at least another year with him, provided all goes according to plan. He needs to finish high school, then figure out the whole college thing. Will he stay nearby? Go far away? I don’t know. Our local option isn’t the best choice for him, in my opinion. I feel like it’s just too large. We’ll see what he thinks when the time gets a little closer. He’s been to Harvard University’s campus and he loved it. Just saying.

Today he finished up his junior year of high school. He doesn’t have his driver’s license yet, but that’s on the agenda for this summer. It’s time. It’s time for him to become more independent before he leaves home. It’s time for him to begin to stretch his wings a little. Just a little. I’m a bit apprehensive about the future, but I know he’s a good kid and he’ll do just fine. I just have to let him take the wheel and drive, no matter how difficult that may be.