Those of you with grown children will know all about this from your memory. Those of you with teenagers are living it now. Those of you with younger children may have an inkling. And those of you without children haven't got a clue.
Son is a teenager. That says a lot. And yet it doesn't really say anything. Teenagers are as different from each other as one tree from another. No two oaks are the same. No two ash. No two beach. No two any trees are the same. And yet all oak trees share common traits. Same with teenagers.
Today we were out. Shopping. A rare occurrence as we seldom have money. But our federal taxes arrived on Friday and we had money in our pockets. Enough to actually eat at an Old Country Buffet restaurant. For those of you who do not know, OCB is an all you can eat establishment. It's a favorite with the very old and the very young. And the poor.
Son used to love going there.
Actually, there was a time when Son always wanted to go with us. It didn't matter where we were going. He wanted to come along.
That was then. This is now.
If it were possible, he would have us go without him even when his presence was required.
The days of not minding being seen with us in public are over. At least for a few years. No longer are we brilliant. We haven't a clue. Our behavior is no longer eccentric. It's embarassing.
But I'm not being fair. The truth is, whatever he feels inside, he is nothing but manners on the outside. I'm only guessing at the clueless and embarassing. He's never said a word. Never acted different.
Except he hates going with us when we leave.
It's his independence coming to the surface. Very necessary, but also lonely.
I appreciate him growing up. Hopefully, he will do better with his life than we have done with ours.
But sometimes I miss the boy.
He used to want to go places with me.
Sigh.
4 comments:
It's a tough time. With having two years between our boys, one was just getting into the grunting and unavailable stage as the other one came out of it.
I have a feeling that growing up is hard on boys and I had a lot of sympathy for them, even while I was missing the children they had been.
It does get better!
My son is still at the front end of the thing, but even so I think we're having a lot better time of it than others. We've been blessed with one wonderful guy.
I sympathize with your growing awareness of the empty nest syndrome in the future. Still, I look back to the years my four kids were teenagers as some of the happiest years of my life. We had a lot of family fun. So, don't despair!
Thanks. It isn't bad, and I'm going to miss it when it's over.
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