My son, Charlie, turned 13 this weekend.
It’s hard to remember exactly what I was doing when I was his age, but in a lot of ways, the teenage version of me and Charlie have a lot in common.
I played the flute, bassoon, and drums, and I marched in the Blackstone Millville Marching band, competing throughout New England and winning six Massachusetts championships and two New England championships.
Our band was a serious piece of business.
Charlie plays the guitar, trumpet, and piano. He’s a member of his school’s select jazz band. He has perfect pitch, which enables him to hear a song and then play it.
It’s like a superpower, but it’s also a little creepy.
I was playing in my final season of Little League when I was Charlie’s age. I won a championship in my final year of baseball and played in my only All-Star game.
I still have the trophies.
Charlie is playing baseball now, too. He’s moved on from Little League to what they called Babe Ruth in my day. I can’t remember why I didn’t advance to Babe Ruth, except I was probably too busy with the marching band to play ball.
I was probably not good enough to play in Babe Ruth, either.
Charlie is an outfielder and a catcher, just like his dad.
When I was Charlie’s age, I was a Boy Scout. I was a patrol leader at the time, but I would quickly rise to become Senior Patrol Leader.
For much of my youth, Scouting was as important to me as anything else in my life. I probably learned more from my time with the Boy Scouts than from any other experience.
Charlie is a Scout today, too, alongside his sister. Baseball often interferes with his participation, but he’s involved and loves it.
But that might be where our similarities end.
Charlie is also a railfan — a person who enjoys railroads and trains, often as a hobby. This can include riding trains, photographing them, studying their history, and collecting related memorabilia.
I have no idea how this happened. One day, he didn’t care at all about trains, and the next day, he was an expert and enthusiast.
Charlie has a YouTube channel about trains and a model train set. When my business partner asked me how he might get from Newark Airport to Hartford when he visits this summer, Charlie was able to give him three very specific options off the top of his head, including the type of train and frequency of departure.
Another creepy skill.
Charlie’s also a cuber, competing in cubing tournaments throughout New England.
I don’t know this happened, either. He spent two days on YouTube, learning to solve a Rubik’s Cube, and now he can solve all kinds of cubes, pyramids, and clocks.
He also managed to get himself into our town’s Aerospace Academy, switching middle schools in the process, despite the lack of support from Elyhsa and me. We liked his previous middle school and were familiar with all the teachers and administrators there. The school was five minutes from our home.
His desire to join the Aerospace Academy, extend his school day by more than an hour, and start taking a bus to school all seemed kind of ridiculous to us.
So we actively opposed his attempts and undermined his efforts.
He still got in, and it turns out that he was right. It’s an incredible opportunity for him, and he’s loving it.
He’s also an aviation enthusiast — wants to be a pilot when he grows up — and next week he’ll be flying in a small plane for the first time alongside an instructor.
Charlie is also an avid fisherman who has a fish tank in his bedroom.
He’s a fan of “The Far Side” because he knows good comedy when he sees it.
He’s a Minecrafter, a fledgling golfer, and a surprisingly good poker player.
I’m known as someone who gets a lot done. Fills his life with variety. Constantly expands his horizons.
I wrote a book — Someday Is Today — to explain how I manage to do so much and offer those strategies to others.
Charlie would seem to be following in my footsteps, except he just became a teenager, and his life is already full. More full than when I was a teenager for sure. Jam-packed with hobbies, sports, music, and other things.
I love it.
I know some kids specialize in one thing. They focus all of their attention and effort on a singular goal. They often become very skilled at their one thing and sometimes rise to the top.
Others, like Charlie, are more generalists. He wants to be very good at a lot of things instead of great at one thing, and I think that’s probably the best way to be.
Do a lot.
Know a lot.
Explore as many corners of this world as you can.
Invite new challenges.
Seek out new experiences.
Happy birthday to my brand-new teenager. He still has a lot to learn. His bedroom is probably a mess, his lunchbox is likely still in his backpack, and he probably has one or two assignments that still need to be completed. Still, overall, he’s doing a fine job of being an interesting human being.
Following in my footsteps and then some.
