Nope, this isn't about sports, this is about emotions. Today's venue: Another soccer field, another team, another coach, another league. Also, another number. Now he is #1, but he still is the only tall redhead out on the pitch.
Talking with your teenager is a big part of the deal, for parents. It's a time of secrets, huge fears, huge hopes, discoveries, experiments and a ton of mistakes.
Time is so different for teens. Nothing like the concept of time we adults think we know. It's more like the next 15 minutes could be a volcano.
If they choose to talk to you, as a parent, you know you've got to be doing something right. Today, I had the enduring pleasure of talking with other soccer parents -- Moms and Dads --as our kids competed in a practice scrimmage on the pitch.
All of us like soccer and enjoy watching our sons and daughters compete. But way beyond that we are keenly aware of how vulnerable they are and of the terrible limitations at this point for us to influence how things turn out for them.
You can't take a test for them, you can't play the game. You can't be there when the wrong kind of peer pressure pops up or the right kind goes away.
You especially cannot help being yourself, the deeply flawed parent who has already exerted so many influences, good and bad. All you can hope to do is be able to talk with him or her.
That's the sum of it all.
-30-
3 comments:
Yeah, you've nailed it. We always hoped the kids would keep talking to us. They did when they were with us, and now that they're off on their own, they still are. I'm glad that somehow we were able to facilitate that.
You have done the job right, my friend. Congratulations to your and your better half.
Another nice post David! --Kathryn O.
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