End Of An Era

This week we celebrate a birthday in our home, a pretty significant birthday. It marks the end of an era. Our "baby" leaves behind the teen years and enters the twenties. It truly seems like just yesterday he was a very little boy. Not only is he leaving behind the teen years, but we are as well! For the last eighteen years we have been the proud (and sometimes not so proud) parents to anywhere from one to four teenagers at any given time. Our home was always filled with the trappings of teenagers. The bathrooms were literally spilling over with blow dryers, curling irons or straighteners, acne cream, shampoo and conditioner for virtually every hair type and... laundry. The stairs were always littered with basketball shoes, school books, backpacks and purses...and sometimes, even laundry. Our bills! My goodness, the bills. Car insurance for that many young (read high risk) drivers sometimes rivaled the mortgage payment and before AT&T blessed us with a family plan we were even known to have cell phone bills in the $400 range. Gas for those expensive to insure cars, tuition, athletic fees, dance, guitar and piano lessons, band instruments, contact lenses and braces took a toll on the ol' pocketbook, yet, I have no memory of Dad ever complaining. I do, however remember the laundry. Mountains of it. I also remember curfews, proms, recitals, first dates and breakups. I remember ball games, track meets, college searches, youth group, mission trips, career choices, teachers, both horrible and truly remarkable and the bullies. I will never forget worrying when that teen driver took their very first solo trip behind the wheel or waiting up until that young man came in after taking a date home. I can't forget ER visits because of dumb stunts and the occasional appearance before a disciplinary committee, or two. I remember SATs, part time jobs, birthday parties, field trips, awards and accolades and lots of graduations...and the laundry. I recall many a night when the weight of the world was just too heavy for one particular teen and they just had to talk it out...right now. There were ups and downs, laughter and tears, bad days (or weeks!) and really good ones, too.

I had feared the teen years from the time our first little one arrived, thanks in no small part to the dreaded warnings of not so well meaning observers. I must say, now that the job is nearly done, it was not as awful as even I had anticipated. I loved having teenagers, in spite of the mess and noise...and even the laundry. This season has been long and at times arduous, and the deep physical tired of the preschool years gave way to the unforgettable emotional tired of gradually letting go. I have truly enjoyed watching them grow from children to adults (or nearly so), mostly with a minimum of angst and very little rebellion. Teenage years, I bid you a fond farewell.