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I admit that by writing this I might be shooting myself in the foot, but I’m going to come out and say it anyway: 11 might be my favorite age. My son, who has had his fair share of anxiety, temper tantrums, and bad behavior in the past, is suddenly seemingly as happy as can be.

It didn’t really happen overnight, but it didn’t not happen overnight. I suspect the main reason for his complete and utter pleasantness (who knew that word could be used to describe a tween) is because we’ve reached the point of the summer where true, uninhibited happiness sets in for anyone force-fed pasta with butter and then allowed to play outside all day. Let’s face it: He’s had a great summer. He’s played the sports he loves with friends he loves and has practically eaten his body weight in grilled foods. All while not being in school. Win-win-win times practically a million.

And as a result, he’s kinder to the rest of us (save, perhaps, his little brother). He’s quick with wit, goofy and curious in ways he wasn’t just a few months ago. He learned how to score a baseball game the old-school way and has spent time creating rosters and even actually scored baseball games he’s watching. That takes a tremendous amount of patience and perseverance, two traits I was really skeptical he even had!

He is not, by nature, a big reader (which is usually a big point of contention for my husband and me). But last night, he lay in bed with me while I read my book and he read his baseball magazine we’d bought him at the corner store over the weekend. We spent almost an hour and a half reading. That is unheard of for him. And when he fell asleep, I carried him into room — or really, let’s be honest, practically dragged his body from my bed to his bed across the hall.

All this to say that while he turned 11 back in March, this has been the summer of truly enjoying my kid. We can have actual conversations — about the election, about climate change, about really anything — and he seems to be absorbing and understanding what I’m saying. What I’ve always loved about my older son is that he shares my sense of humor, and as a result we’ve had a blast these past few months.

I’m sure as the summer drags on and middle school inches closer and closer to the horizon his old habits might rear their heads. But until then, I’ll enjoy the time I’m getting right now, with my truly fun kid.