He'll be married with a mortgage and 2.5 kids any day now

StepSon has decided to age 20 years in the past month. I'm not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, he still has that "farts will always be funny" quality that men learn to hide when around females but never quite get rid of - and he hasn't mastered the "hide it" part of that yet. He still thinks he only needs two t-shirts, one pair of underwear and an unmatched pair of socks to make it through a week. And washing them is optional. But he's old enough now to see the wisdom that only males find in The Godfather. He's discovering more vegetables that he'll eat without complaining. And at this very moment, he is out DRIVING MY CAR with his father beside him. He got his permit a few months ago, but due to his new-found love for lacrosse and his ever-increasing social life, he hasn't spent that much time driving. But today he wanted to go out in my car. Since his dad drives a truck and it's a stick, but I drive the same model car as his mother, he picked my car. I spend more time in my car some days than I do in my living room, so I'm a wee bit attached to her. And the boy who has trouble rembering where his shoes are is now being trusted to remember which side the brake peddle is on. Without looking down. But when he gave me that look with those big brown eyes, I didn't even protest. I just handed him the keys. I've always known that being a mother required more courage than I could ever hope to have - there's that whole giving birth part that I decided to skip, since I'm not the bravest person in the world. But this boy is teaching me that maybe I got a little too cocky about sidestepping the entire "needing courage" part. PS - I love the first two Godfather movies. But there must be something subliminal in them, because men seem to get something extra "special" out of them. Maybe it's the blood. Maybe it's the Alpha Male-ness. I don't know - but it's there.