Category: teenage stuff
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Subject du jour
We go through all kinds of topics, and turn right back and go deeper still on some. When we exhaust an idea we move on and don’t look back. Talking with the girls is fun and exhausting and my favorite thing to these days. One thing my parents did was give me general guidelines for…
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Defiance
When the kids were little the girls would ask me for certain things that I usually said yes, and they asked Conrad certain other things that he usually said yes to. I would put them to bed because I would stay longer and answer more questions. He would let them play on the iPad certain…
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Useful conversations
To what degree do we make a sustained effort to engage in useful conversations? Always. Start always with the best intentions. But I personally pay attention to signs and I adapt quickly to the circumstances and move on if I hit a wall. I don’t trust others’ availability to engage if they can’t manage the…
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The book of Ruth
One week in a rustic setting in the mountains, an old cabin with a lot of history, a place where I attended camps as a preteen and then through my teen years. A holy place and a transformative time. Incredible stories, vulnerability, reverence and silence, tears of joy or grief, and relief. And a whole…
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Honesty
His distance gives her space to reflect. It is not painful to her. It actually is a blessing. Room to breathe, to think. The relationship is not just physical attraction for her. I wonder if that was the turn the relationship took too early. Like following a roadmap, and having specific milestones, and directions, but she…
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The biggest question
“I want you to give me an honest answer. Don’t say yes just because you are my mom.” I feel a bit overwhelmed by all the emotion and responsibility. I play the devil’s advocate often. Also, inadvertently I use reverse psychology and things turn out just right. “Could this work?” She asks. “We are so…
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First hike in august
With mom and dad we could do only some light hikes. And our feet were already itching for the hills. We get ready with the promise of tired legs at the end, a heart pumping healthily in our chests, sweat running down our backs and a clearer mind. I felt teary driving up to the…
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Rescue
Ivy invites me every evening to reflect on the day and pray with them. When Jackie said she doest feel like praying, my heart aches. She is not grumpy, or moody, or tired. Her mind is elsewhere. And after I call her out on her recurring attitude, she said she doesn’t know how to talk…
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About faith as teens
You are prickly when you feel that others expect or demand more of you than you are willing to give. It’s a defense mechanism – a gut reaction. And surprise-surprise: it’s healthy. If you would tone it down before you figure out why you feel this way, you may miss out on an important lesson…
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Broken mirror
My daughter is more important than a broken glassYou are more important than a giftYour relationship is more important than a moment of inattentive mistake You hug her every time you see her nowBecause it makes you happyIt fills you with joy But as she pulled her phone from the pocketAnd dropped the heart shaped…
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jurnal despre adolescenți
Uneori am impresia ca se iau prea in serios. Se grăbesc. Și pun frâna sacadat. Bruscat. Se sperie de propriile trăiri și de ritmul propriu sau al celuilalt. Nicicum nu-i bine. Nici să le dau apă la moară. Nici să faci baraj. Uneori îmi doresc să poată face o pauză natural, amândoi în același gând,…
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Not looking for approval
Clear headed, even as I listen to her heartAnd have the courage to pray dangerous prayersMay God take away even good thingsTo make room for the right thingsThe greatest things. I sensed myself loosing my bearingsImmersing myself into her love storyHer new interest – the sweet innocent targetThat could easily turn upside downWhen one would…