My Son, The Adult

Just quite recently, my son turned 12 years old. That makes him an adult in the travel world.

If you've been a regular reader of this website over the years, you would of course know by now that the "travel world" is one important world to my son's mother -- me!

What does it mean to be 12 in the travel world? That means no more discounts on airfare and lodging. He won't be treated as a child anymore and will therefore be charged for the room even if I don't ask for an extra bed. Most of the resorts say that two children below 12 can stay with their parents for free if they share their parents' bed. I won't enjoy any of that anymore. Shucks! Sheesh.

Then again, one look at my son truly convinces me that he isn't a kid anymore. He is almost as tall as I am (well, not very tall yet but hey, he's only 12) and his hands and his feet are already bigger than mine. When I see him, I can hardly believe that he's the same baby I carried with just one arm while my other hand held a phone as I yakked away with friends while in the hospital or while I was on maternity leave. (Okay, you can start playing strains of Sunrise, Sunset from Fiddler on the Roof now.)

When we walk in the rain, he now holds up the umbrella for me. He keeps the door steady as I walk out of the house. He has a mind of his own and makes decisions on what to buy, what to sell -- without asking me.

But then, I still hear him argue and fight with his sister. He still comes along on family trips and activities -- well, at least some of them -- particularly if they involve food or travel. He still punctuates my weekends with: "Mommy, can you buy..." so I know he is still a kid at heart.

It has been one exciting journey from that fateful day in 1996. My son's an adult now in the travel world. Just six more years to go to true adulthood. I hope he'll be ready by then. So, excuse me while I prepare all my lessons and monologues for the six years ahead.