Ten

At 4:17 AM on March 9th, Noah officially turned double digits! I am completely shocked by how quickly ten years have gone by. It's as if I've savored a decade of motherhood in some sort of bizarre time warp where changes happen instantaneously, but in slow motion.

That tiny 6 pound, 18 inch long infant is now 70 pounds and almost 5 feet tall. That babbling baby now has an unlimited vocabulary and reads at an 8th grade level. That stumbling one year old now leaps over hedges and knows how to ride a skateboard. That two year old banging on the piano can now play jazz and blues. That clingy preschooler who wouldn't leave my side now can't wait to leave for three weeks of overnight camp this Summer. That curious kindergartener who broke things just to see how they worked can now build working things of his own.

He is not little anymore.

(sniffle, sniffle)

That being said, he's not exactly big, either. He is a 'tween. He loves his independence and his friends, but he's not embarrassed when I hug him in public.

Well, not yet, anyway. So, I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

Here's the breakdown. Noah at age ten:

-"Oh, it's been extraordinary!", Noah said, when I asked him how his last day of being nine was going. "I played a huge game of tag at recess with almost everyone in my class and we did cool stuff in science. Plus, it's really nice outside!" That word sums up Noah at age ten: Extraordinary. I know I'm slightly biased, but he's a really great kid.

- In his ten years, he's gained two sisters. They absolutely adore him and he adores them right back. He is a kind, loving, protective big brother. So lucky, my little girls.

- He is a HUGE Celtics fan.

- Noah has a great group of friends and one best friend, Mack, who comes over so often that he's practically family. I love listening to (er...eavesdropping on) them when they talk openly about their friends, things that happen at school, and life in general. It's usually very funny, but it's also very informative and endearing.

- He loves to build stuff out of parts from other things. Recently, he made a working door-opener out of the launcher from a Matchbox race-car track, batteries, copper wire, and some gymp. Last month, he rewired his clock radio to a big, old boombox speaker that he found on the street. Thankfully, he did not wake the entire neighborhood when his alarm went off the next morning.

- Noah eats like he's got a hollow leg that needs filling. Thankfully, he's got an adventurous palate and will try anything once, as evidenced by his love of things like fish eyes, snails, and hot peppers.

- He loves trickery and often tries to fool his sisters into believing the preposterous. Last month, he tried to convince a post-nap Lilah that she had hibernated and that it was actually April.

- He's learning two languages right now - Spanish at his regular school and modern Hebrew at Hebrew school. He's pretty fluent in Spanish and his Hebrew is improving everyday. Sometimes, though, he mixes them up and comes out with crazy sentences that combine Spanish and Hebrew words with English conjunctions. The same thing used to happen to me when I was first learning the same two languages. Plagued by my own trilingual beginner's confusion, I used to joke with my Dad that my brain was like a stew full of paella, Boston cream pie, and falafel. He'd joke back, saying, "It's heartburn in three languages!". Now he makes the same kind of jokes with Noah...and it makes me smile.

- Noah has become an excellent, dedicated pianist. He works very hard on his assigned lesson pieces, but also has a lot of fun just playing around at the piano. He challenges himself by figuring out how to play his favorite songs by ear. In the past few months, he's taught himself songs by Augustana, Coldplay, REM, Regina Spektor, and Jack Johnson. In the past week, he's figured out the instrumental theme from "Up". It's so lovely to have a house that's always full of music.

- He started clarinet this year. Thankfully, it was only the first few weeks that every practice session sounded like a gaggle of tortured geese. He actually plays pretty well now.

- Noah is impressively charismatic and charming. He instinctively knows how to talk to people and has developed quite a way with the ladies. At Aviva's preschool class party a couple of weeks ago, he introduced himself to all of Aviva's very pretty, twenty-something teachers with certainty and complete confidence. When Aviva's teacher, Meaghan, said, "Noah, it's so nice to finally meet you! Aviva talks about you all the time!" Noah shook her hand, looked right into her eyes, smiled, and said, "Oh, it's really a pleasure to be here. Aviva talks about you, too, and likes you a lot. I would love it if you'd show me around the classroom!" Meaghan looked at me with an amused, beguiled expression, then took him on a tour of the classroom - just like that. He also flirts with unsuspecting salesgirls to get free stuff. He and Michael stopped into Melt one evening last week. While Michael got some shaving products, Noah chatted up the salesgirl and came away with complimentary bath salts.
As he grows, I hope he uses these powers for good and only good. I will do my best to make sure that he does.

- He has lots of questions about everything. My favorite recent one, "Mom, do the bumps around my nipples signify my age? You know, like a tree's rings?"

- His body is slowly beginning to change. It won't be too long before you'll need to lock up your daughters.

- It also won't be too long before we need to start thinking about his Bar Mitzvah. Oy vey.

Until then, he is ten, which is an amazing age. I plan to enjoy it and to let him enjoy it, knowing full well that another ten years will pass in the blink of an eye.

Happy decade, Noah. It's been extraordinary.