Just remembering "being 18"

Do you remember being 18? I do. It wasn’t THAT long ago…and I do remember it like it was yesterday. My oldest son turned 18 last July. We have had our ups and downs but otherwise we have a pretty solid relationship. I know not to try to talk to him about anything important in the morning. He is a night person as his mother once was. I know he thinks he knows EVERYTHING and that I know NOTHING. He has made mistakes. So have I. He is learning. So am I.
The hardest struggle for me is watching him fall.
I am thankful for what he hasn’t done so far in his young life but also upset about some of things he has done. I will not list his mistakes but lets say there are a few that I would like to forget.
Some of his traits that I hate the most are ones that are the ones he got from me.
I have tried to talk to him about a few of these but that’s like talking to a brick wall. He is just as stubborn as I am.
I look at him now and I am grateful that he is not expecting his first child at this age like I was. I don’t regret having him so young but I do know what changes occurred in my life because of that decision.
I am happy that he doesn’t drink or do drugs. He works and is showing signs of maturity there. He is planning on college in the fall.
I wish I could spare him some of the twists and turns of paths taken by me in my younger years but yet some of those paths are necessary to become strong.
My little boy is becoming a man. I am proud to call him my son.