Ahh, teenagers. It’s tough, you know, trying to parent young people who are caught in the middle of childhood and adulthood. The physical, emotional, and behavioral changes brought on by the stages of puberty can be enough to drive an entire family insane, and it can be a dark time, my friends. Even if your teen is relatively well-behaved in the grand scheme of things (as mine are), puberty can be ugly. As they grow older, teenagers push back against “the system” in their fight to be more independent while still being taken care of within the family unit. They want to make their own decisions, and it’s a struggle…
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- Amazing People, Chicken in the Car, Fun in Chicago, Proud Moments, Something That Could Change Your Life, Travels
Make No Little Plans.
“Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably will themselves not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die.” ~Daniel Burnham, American architect and urban planner, 1846-1912 How much do you know about your hometown? Could you tell somebody about its history? Do you take advantage of what it has to offer in the way of entertainment, architecture, parks, and all of the other good stuff? Do you feel comfortable exploring the entire area, as opposed to staying in the cocoon of your neighborhood? Do you know anything about the…
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Transitions, Part Two
Yesterday I wrote about D’s return to college, and how different it feels this year compared to last. There are some changes where J is concerned, too. He has just begun his junior year in high school, which is really hard to believe in itself, so let’s all just pause for a moment to think about that. *pause* At the beginning of June, J got his first real job, working for an internet-based company. The owners of the company, a husband and wife, are members at our temple and gave him a chance for the summer, even though they were initially looking for a college student. J jumped right in…
- I've Got Mad Skillz, Jim Has Mad Skillz, My Kid Has Mad Skillz, Proud Moments, Random Thoughts, Reflections on Parenting
Transitions, Part One
Ahh, life. We’re going through all kinds of changes in this house right now. I’m not typically a fan of changes, but I’m learning to roll with them as they come up. The biggest thing happening this week is D’s imminent departure. He’s going back to college on Monday, to begin his sophomore year. When I think about how worried and emotional I was last year, right before he left us for the first time, I smile a little bit. I wish I had known back then, just one tiny little year ago, that even though things were changing, they were staying the same in so many ways. He had…
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Zeus and the Hanger
Time flies. It flies so quickly that I just realized I never wrote about the acquisition of J’s first car, six weeks ago. SIX WEEKS AGO. That’s like, four years in blog time. I won’t go into all of the details of the search except to say that J was delightfully open to “almost any car that runs”. This attitude was in massive contrast to his brother’s: when D was looking for his first car, he had things narrowed down to what was nearly impossible to find. Oh, he found it alright, but the annoyance level of everything having to do with that car hunt was high. This house was…