When Joe (he is 15 now) was about 8, I remember sitting around the dinner table one night and asking the boys what they wanted to be when they got older.  Ok, maybe he was a bit younger, but anyways… I am not sure what Corey and Addi said, but Joe’s answer was hilarious.

“I want to have hair!” He announced with conviction.

I looked at my son blankly. Joe had and still has a full head of very thick dark brown hair, so I was confused as to what he wanted.

“You have hair, Joe.” Roy answered drly.

“No, I want hair like dad!” He answered with excitement, “I want hair on my chest and my legs and under my armpits.”

I laughed hysterically.  My husband has a full chest of hair, and while I love it, I didn’t quite realize that the boys looked at his hairy chest as something to which to aspire.  Roy shook his head and chuckled.

“When you have to shave twice a day, then we’ll talk.”  He told the boys.

Little did he realize that the boys were eagerly anticipating the day when they would have to shave.  Along with shaving, came other ‘adult’ things - driving, earning money, dating, paying bills… (OK, they probably weren’t looking forward to that last item).  Shaving is a rite of passage for girls AND for boys.

And now, many years later, the dreams have changed.  I’m not sure if Joe still wants chest hair, and he is about to start driving.  Corey has already reached that milestone.  There was once a time when they wanted to stay up past 11 pm, and now they have friends over until 2 in the morning.  They wanted to see a Rated R movie in the theater, and now Corey can soon go without us (they don’t always check ID here, but either way he will be 17 in about a month!).  They wanted to be able to stay home alone, and now not only do they do so, but they often babysit their younger brothers.

Corey thought it would be so cool for me to ask him to run to the store for some milk, and now he gets to do that (or even get something for himself at the spur of the moment).  Joe dreamed of the day he would have his own computer - he does, along with a nice little flat screen TV and an Xbox 360.  (TV was a Christmas gift, and he bought the 360 himself).  Addi wanted his own room - he now has it, complete with cool black walls (he picked it) and a bed he helped his dad make.

The three older boys have their own cell phones (Perhaps that’s why our cell bill is over 200 dollars? I don’t know!), and Hayden’s big dream is to have his own phone too (in time, dear).  Meanwhile, Joe wants a car, and Corey is hoping to be a chef one day.

The dreams change and grow just as the boys do, but I miss the days when Joe’s biggest goal in life was to have a hairy chest.

Meanwhile, Dean’s goal right now is to watch The Amazing World of Gumball on Cartoon Network.