Having a teenager in my home was always something I looked forward to.  The silly banter, awkward discussions, crazy mood swings (okay maybe I didn’t look forward to these but they are interesting to say the least), the activity and generally the life achievements that come at this age!

Enter said “one day teenager” (May 30, 2001)…

photo 1When I first met this sweet little boy I was not really thinking of the gamut of emotions I was likely to experience on a daily basis in parenting him.  I was more enthralled with his beautiful face, perfect features, warm snuggles and joyful firsts that come with a firstborn.  I filled a scrapbook with WAY too many pictures, wrote him long letters (that he’ll likely never read), basked in the glow of motherhood cherishing every little movement and noise that he made!

photo 3And let’s be honest James and I were too busy growing up ourselves to fully appreciate what we had gotten ourselves into!  We were almost newlyweds…two years into this amazing journey of marriage, now entering the rollercoaster of parenthood and all the trials that come along with it.

Which stage was your favourite….

photo 7I have been asked this question a lot!  Many parents do have a favourite stage and I do not fault them for their preference.  When I was pregnant with Sam I told my mom how terrible I felt to not be excited for the baby stage.  I was pretty sure I wasn’t the affectionate, coddling mother of newborns that I’d seen other women embrace.  However it didn’t actually take that long into Sam’s “newborness” that I was cooing weird little words to him and doing all the baby type things I wasn’t sure I’d like.

But as he grew I found myself enjoying every stage as much as the last.  He was sweet and funny, daring and adventurous, snuggly and kindphoto 5 and all the things a mother loves to see in her son.  I mean really, how could ANYONE not love the many faces of this humorous little man.  Of course, each stage brought its challenges.  Life isn’t rewarding unless you see through the moments that are difficult but somehow we were created to find the good and hold onto that for dear life.  I haven’t found being a mom particularly easy.  I realized some pretty serious weaknesses on my part pretty early on in Sam’s life and I spent many a night on my knees asking for patience and wisdom (find myself that way even more often these photo 6days).  But in each stage I have loved getting to know who this young man is.  His quirks, his strengths, his weaknesses, his passions, joys and disappoints.

What’s best about this stage…

photoOver the years he has blessed our home with many memories.  We’ve laughed together, we’ve cried together, we’ve yelled at each other and smiled at each other.  He has given us so many moments to be proud of him and a few disappointments.  James and I have seen him grow into a smart, hard-working, honest, young man.  He holds his friends close, values his family beyond belief and has a soft-heart that he tries desperately to hide.  He is quiet, not outspoken or gregarious like some of his siblings but he is SOLID!  He knows what he believes and stands firm in his understanding of what his faith looks like.  He is not keen to conform but is pretty conservative in his views.  While James and I are not perfect parents and he’s not a perfect son we’ve found our way through these last few years and I know that we will continue to work through even these challenging teen years.  Quite frankly I think that so far I’ve enjoyed this stage the most.  Half boy, half man…stuck in these weird years of trying to manage his emotions, still needing the love and affection of his parents but sometimes just hating the whole, wide world.  It’s a bit of a disaster but it’s our disaster and every moment of it brings us to a new understanding of ourselves and each other!

This kid is awesome and I’m looking forward to many more years of fun stages, crazy laughter and good times!

 

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