Ok everyone it is 2024. I either revive this blog or say goodnight, which I don’t want to do. SO- the best way I know how to tackle this is to update it one family component at a time. Like, what’s been up with who (or what) since my last real post which was shamefully last July. My hope is that by the end of this 6 month series, we’ll be solidly tee’d up for the rest of the year and beyonnnnnnd.
Without further ado, here’s what we know about Ashton, age 12 and in 6th grade. Well first, he actually had to TURN 12 and here are those pictures (August 3rd).
The real milestone here is that he got an iPhone. All he wanted was to text his friends and I admit the more he is out and about, the happier I am to be able to contact him. There have been several app deletions since August and MANY screentime rules in place, but as far as I can tell it isn’t ruining his life yet so he’s allowed to have it.
Ashton chose not to play football this past fall which was just fine with me. He instead opted to play on his full time hockey team (the 2011-2 Boch Blazers) and is an alternate for the 2011 Select Assabet Patriots team, which is the same club Alex plays for. It’s a lot of carpooling and late dinners, but he loves it. The Blazers were selected to play in the CAN/AM Lake Placid tournament in October so we packed up for that. Talk about an amazing experience. It was incredible competition and they ended up with silver medals – one of the best weekends we’ve had as a hockey family. Ashton got to carry the flag at the opening ceremony, was selected as his team ambassador in the shootout, scored a goal, and the list goes on.
If I had been keeping up this would have been its own post entirely, it was that good.
Now, part of playing hockey is the hair. By this point (end of October) Ashton had not had a true haircut in 6 months. It was long, shaggy, and so important to him that his hair became like the 5th person in our family. It was talked about, fretted over, etc.
And then, middle school reared its ugly head. He started to come home really upset. Kids were teasing him about being a girl and saying all sorts of mean things. His hat was constantly stolen. It went on for a week or two and then Ashton was sufficiently beaten down that he asked Jason to cut it. He was SO conflicted. He loved his hair but couldn’t deal with the negative attention. He cried the whole time and kept telling him to make it shorter. My heart was just shattered for him.
I bring this up because one of the major things Ashton has faced in the last 6 months is navigating social situations by himself. He has reported kids taking his sandwich at lunch and sitting on it, unzipping his backpack so things fall out, his hat being taken and crushed, kids blocking him from sitting on the bus. In the past, I would have taken zero issue with texting the mom and getting myself involved. But Ashton said to me the first time something like this happened: “Please don’t do anything. The mom will talk to the kid and then the kid will be all over me that I told you and got him in trouble. It will make it way worse for me.” Fair enough, but one of the hardest things is listening to him and doing nothing. I hate it.
What else about Ashton. He gets all A’s and B’s in school, and actually gets himself up and on the bus by 7:10 am all by himself. Make no mistake: this is the only thing he does all by himself. He can’t hang up his towel, get his clothes in the hamper, or throw wrappers in the trash, but the one thing he does do is almost worth it because I don’t have to get out of bed 😀
Ashton’s best friend is Max. That gets tricky sometimes because Max is Max but they play hockey together, rollerblade, compete in stumble guys, and eat a lot of food together.
Speaking of food, Ashton still struggles with a lot of allergies – random stuff like pea protein, SOME tree nuts, eggs, and sesame. Sometimes he eats things that I have no idea caused a reaction, luckily Benadryl stops it but like, UGH. His skin in winter is also horrific, so dry and scabbed from scratching but he won’t let any lotion within 10 feet. Itching < Greasiness.
I’ll leave you with some live action footage. Ashton read a book called Into the Killing Seas and then for a school assignment, had to pretend he was the main character Patrick trying out for the TV show Survivor. It went something like this: https://youtu.be/RS_HSY1YB70
That’s a wrap on our Airpod wearing almost-teenager, who got braces in December, often acts like he has fluff for brains and says the word Bro a lot. Likes: sneakers, hoodies, hats, hockey cards and buffalo chicken. Dislikes: early bedtimes, showering, wearing a coat and walking the dog. Just a star in the making 🙂
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