Maybe it's Puberty?

My son has been very angry lately.  Maybe not so much angry, but something is going on.  We are getting all kinds of moods from him lately.   He's cranky, he's boastful, he's angry, he's just seemingly not happy.   He's also defiant and we just can't figure out what the impetus for any of this can be.   

He's not happy at us, but that's in significant part because we're asking him to do things like clean up his things, do his laundry, not use improper language, be respectful, eat properly, you know, all the standard things parents ask children to do and not do.  

But something else is going on and he's fluctuating between moods that go from angry to sad and upset.   I was talking to him tonight and he actually let me hug him for a while, which I could tell he needed but I didn't think he'd let me get near him, but he did.   I asked him if he knew why he was so upset lately.   He said, "maybe it's puberty?"    

I don't know, it's a little early, but it could very likely be. 

The Big Boy Update:  My son had to be taken away from the dinner table with my parents tonight twice, after not seeing them for several months.   He was not having a good day.  

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter had the best time talking with the my parents while her brother had been excused from the table for bad behavior.   She was so happy to see them after such a long time apart.