When do they get "cool"?

M is 8 years old, the age when you learn how to be funny. He's learning his style, evolving from the baby jokes and unfunny knock-knocks into something a wee bit more sophisticated. He's also right on the cusp of being **gulp**....cool. I'm Mom sometimes now, not Mommy. He's learning that all the kids at school are not his friends. Some kids aren't very nice, and some are. Up until very recently he just couldn't understand why all the other kids didn't want to be his best friend. He's finally figuring out lunch room techniques so that he has enough time to eat all of his food. That made me crazy, all the wasted food he brought home from lack of someone telling him "you have to finish up, lunch is almost over". I guess that's just something kids have to learn. Listening to him and his dad play their video game together is the most wonderful, squee-worthy thing I've ever not understood one word of. They discuss at length the ins and outs of transports and armor and combat and bio-labs and earning badges or some-such. I asked him the other day if he was the good guy or the bad guy and he said "Mommy, it's a war. Everybody thinks they are the good guy." OH, well then. Dang. Mouths of babes, right? He's learned to tie his shoes. Yeah, yeah, I know that's like a 5-year-old skill, but yo, he got the Velcro. It took about 30 seconds, too. Loop it, swoop it, pull it. He had it down, just like that. He is really tall for his age and skinny as a rail. Eric and I were both super-skinny kids, too. I remember my older cousins not letting me sit on their laps because my butt was so skinny my bones hurt their legs. Now I know why! OW! He's still very sweet and lovey and I still get tons of hugs and kisses. There's still some residual whining but he gets over it pretty fast. Mainly because it doesn't work and he's learned that. He loves to build with Lego and he brings me his creations to admire. Polar opposite of his brother with regard to performing in front of others. He ain't doing it. He is growing up a little in that department and realizing that it's fun or at least not horrible to sing in a group of kids for school functions. He also did the catwalk on Literacy Night in his goat costume, in front of a big group of parents and kids. So his stage-fright has gotten better, but he's still not comfortable performing. It's not for him. He gets that from E. He's very sweet. He does get annoyed with X but I admit X is a little bit much. I try to run interference because I know it's difficult dealing with X sometimes. I do tell him how much his brother admires him and wants to be just like him. When he did his school report on the President he practiced giving his presentation for me and X in the morning before school. The rest of the day X was fascinated with Marack Obama and wanted to know all about him. M is color-blind. We learned that at his first grade eye test. No issues with it, just something M is dealing with. I still wash his hair. We'll probably teach him to do it himself soon. I'm steeling myself for him to become too cool to kiss me goodbye in the morning or hold my hand in public. I don't think the sweetness will go away, though. He's so good-hearted, and I think that is just part of who he is.