How to *really* know your teenager
Our son is thirty-eight and this morning I am just getting to know his teenage self. Most teenagers are wrapped in something like a Romulan Cloaking Device. It is so easy to look at teenager's cluttered room, all that surface disorder, and think you know them.
Not a bit of it. Here is the secret: Look at how a teenager handles his treasures.
As I have worked to clear and pack our son's old room, I suddenly realized how much time and effort he invested to protect the things he loved. For example: last week we found a group of letters his grandparents wrote to him his freshman year in college. Yep, every one was saved, and stacked in date order. I wanted to send those on to him. Grabbed a smallish box, but there was more room. I added some character figures he displayed on his shelves. Yesterday I found the original packages for all those figures carefully wrapped in plastic in his closet. There are toys in their original boxes, early writing efforts, notebooks about games that John saved and protected. Today, that same time and effort go into his wife and daughter and his work --- making games.
We have always loved and been proud of our son. This morning we understand a whole lot more of the child that became the man he is today.
Not a bit of it. Here is the secret: Look at how a teenager handles his treasures.
As I have worked to clear and pack our son's old room, I suddenly realized how much time and effort he invested to protect the things he loved. For example: last week we found a group of letters his grandparents wrote to him his freshman year in college. Yep, every one was saved, and stacked in date order. I wanted to send those on to him. Grabbed a smallish box, but there was more room. I added some character figures he displayed on his shelves. Yesterday I found the original packages for all those figures carefully wrapped in plastic in his closet. There are toys in their original boxes, early writing efforts, notebooks about games that John saved and protected. Today, that same time and effort go into his wife and daughter and his work --- making games.
We have always loved and been proud of our son. This morning we understand a whole lot more of the child that became the man he is today.