The Teenage Years
We've had a lot of other people's kids at our house lately.
Which is exactly how we want it, actually. In the middle of last week my wife heard the shower running and knowing that I wasn't home and that one of her sons was at college and the other two were sitting next to her, asked:
"Who's' in the shower?"
"Quinn," Jake said.
Quinn, you see, is always over. He's a funny kid who can really eat. He actually helps out a lot by driving Sam home from school, and shooting hoops with them in the driveway.
When I would put pressure on Matt as he grew he'd remind me that he had time to grow.
"I'm enjoying my childhood," he would say.
The other boys have taken up the mantra.
They are enjoying it, too. I can assure you of that.
Yet there is a bit of angst at this time of year because Jake will be graduating in mere months, and his college choice is being discussed. He's also just weeks away from his prom.
Yeah.
The prom.
The great dance where high school kids go and act like adults...or act like stupid kids trying to be adults.
The tensions run high in the schools as everyone tries to pair up.
I recall being all upset about it when I was a senior and my Dad telling me:
"Toughen up. You'll barely remember it when you get older."
(Dad wasn't one for whining).
But I am blessed with an unreal memory and I do remember all of it. The uncertainty, the drama, the arguments, the wondering, the sadness, the happiness, and ultimately knowing that it all worked out okay...
...but Dad was right in a way.
There was a whole lot of living left to do and while I cherish the high school memories...it's pushed out by moving forward.
But my boys are cursed.
They are sensitive sorts who really take it all to heart.
(Some may have said that I was a bit of a puppy dog back in those years as well).
I would much rather have them that way...then being calloused or mean.
My beautiful wife was telling me a little of the drama.
"What do you think?" she asked.
"They'll get through it," I answered.
"I hate to see them feeling hurt."
"You ain't gonna' stop that," I said. "That's how it goes."
And we might want to protect them from all the hurt that life will bring...
...but we can't.
They just need to figure how to cope.
Toughen Up.
Which is exactly how we want it, actually. In the middle of last week my wife heard the shower running and knowing that I wasn't home and that one of her sons was at college and the other two were sitting next to her, asked:
"Who's' in the shower?"
"Quinn," Jake said.
Quinn, you see, is always over. He's a funny kid who can really eat. He actually helps out a lot by driving Sam home from school, and shooting hoops with them in the driveway.
When I would put pressure on Matt as he grew he'd remind me that he had time to grow.
"I'm enjoying my childhood," he would say.
The other boys have taken up the mantra.
They are enjoying it, too. I can assure you of that.
Yet there is a bit of angst at this time of year because Jake will be graduating in mere months, and his college choice is being discussed. He's also just weeks away from his prom.
Yeah.
The prom.
The great dance where high school kids go and act like adults...or act like stupid kids trying to be adults.
The tensions run high in the schools as everyone tries to pair up.
I recall being all upset about it when I was a senior and my Dad telling me:
"Toughen up. You'll barely remember it when you get older."
(Dad wasn't one for whining).
But I am blessed with an unreal memory and I do remember all of it. The uncertainty, the drama, the arguments, the wondering, the sadness, the happiness, and ultimately knowing that it all worked out okay...
...but Dad was right in a way.
There was a whole lot of living left to do and while I cherish the high school memories...it's pushed out by moving forward.
But my boys are cursed.
They are sensitive sorts who really take it all to heart.
(Some may have said that I was a bit of a puppy dog back in those years as well).
I would much rather have them that way...then being calloused or mean.
My beautiful wife was telling me a little of the drama.
"What do you think?" she asked.
"They'll get through it," I answered.
"I hate to see them feeling hurt."
"You ain't gonna' stop that," I said. "That's how it goes."
And we might want to protect them from all the hurt that life will bring...
...but we can't.
They just need to figure how to cope.
Toughen Up.
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