We ate dinner together at the table last night, as a family. I had to force it, the teenagers are busy texting, listening to ipods and doing nothing in their rooms, or out swimming and socializing with other teenagers. They want to eat standing up in the kitchen, at random times. It hard, raising teenagers. People will tell you its hard but dont explain exactly why...its not always because they are rebellious, or angry or withdrawn...my teenagers have been quite the opposite. Its hard because you tuck your child in bed one night, and they ask you to remember the night light and you pack their lunch and you wash their hair and then suddenly out of the blue, they are driving a car, falling in love, planning a life, and you arent at the center of it all anymore, in fact you have to chase them down for basic information. Its not simple anymore. Learning when to let go and when to hold on, in the moment, and hoping you chose right. I got them all to the table, we ate on nice dishes, we faced each other, we talked. Mostly about nothing. But I got the chance to mention to Riah I think she should take the ACT test for college (she took the SAT and decided she wasnt taking the ACT earlier). She looked annoyed. I got to talk to my son, who basically eats and sleeps and eats and eats and then sleeps some more. He has a friend who is having trouble at home, and he encouraged her to get counseling and even took her to the counselor. As he is telling me about it, my brain is racing in a million directions...I feel pride, he is responsible and wise and a good friend, shock at her parents and the drama she has with them, and anxiety about how my sons friendship with her can complicate his life, a life I have cultivated, carefully and with great thought for almost 15 years now. Just before dinner was over, I told everyone, every Wednesday, from now one, we are all dining together at 6 pm, rain or shine. They groaned, rolled their eyes and got up to put their dishes in the sink, but I caught a smile on both their faces as they walked away...a lot of the time, you dont know if you are getting it right, but sometimes you just know...and I know that they will know, I fought for them every step of the way. They are good, kids, great students, ambitious and independent, but they are still my kids...
Posted on: Thu, 11 Sep 2014 17:52:36 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015