I read it today and decided to repost for any who might not have read the first time around.
Many things have changed, yet many remain the same.
As I have grown and learned so much as a mom of highschool boys. The lessons have been a mix of laughable, painful but most of all memorable. I'm sure that there is plenty more in store, I'm just gonna get in the lazy river as best as I can and roll with whatever comes :)
Many of you might be able to relate.
I have been tossing around a few ideas to write about this week. I kept coming back to one general topic. Homecoming,traditions and emotions.
What I am realizing is that as a 46 year old woman and mother, I appreciate some of the traditions and chivalry that I had grown up with. I want to clarify some thoughts before I go further. First, I understand the circle of life. I understand that my boys are going to grow up and experience what life has to offer. This includes girlfriends, lovers and wives. Secondly, I also know that as a mother I am here on this earth to guide and teach them to be decent productive members of society.To borrow my 84 year old mom saying, "to launch them". To teach them about having a solid moral compass and demonstrate respect for women.
I have always told my boys to be kind to girls. I explained that as boys become interested in girls, they start doing things to gain the attention of these girls. Boys in general want ANY attention girls will give them be it positive or negative.
Typically, girls will remember the negative before they remember the positive.It is just the way the brain is wired. I always use Phil L. from 6th grade snapping my bra strap as my example. He probably was really nice to me but I will always think of the bra snapping incident first.
With that being said. I feel as though I had planted enough seeds about respect into Mitchell to be ready for homecoming. I also know that I have the fear of God in him about taking pictures that could haunt him later in life. That is a whole other blog entry. I am thankful I grew up before the internet ..... lets just say that....
In the days leading up to Homecoming, I was experiencing similar feelings to when he was getting on the bus the first day of middle school. He was going to come back a different boy. Some change was going to happen, one step further away from innocence.
Last Saturday Mitchell and I were in Santa Barbara at a water polo tournament for the day. We had time to discuss the idea of him going up to her door and meeting her father, shaking his hand firmly(just as my dad said should be done) and looking him in the eye. He was ready.
The texting began in the car ride home, she did not want him to come to the door. She didn't want him to meet her father. As a mom, it made my heart sink just a bit. I have to be honest. I wanted him to have that quintessential first date experience of meeting the parents, corsage , photos, dance..... clearly that was not happening...
We were able to get a few photos at the school before they were off into the sea of teenagers and loud music. My heart was a bit sad. Although I was happy for him, I knew he was going to get back into the car a different boy... Steve laughed and said how he was happy to see that Mitch had 'game'. I was a bit sick to my stomach and needed a glass of wine.
Steve posted on Facebook that he wanted to go full 'Damone' in the car while chauffeuring but played Physical Graffiti with a huge smile on his face....Maybe this is just a mom thing I was thinking.... What I didn't mention was the fact that 2 weeks earlier at the dinner table, Mitchell announced that he was planning on having his first kiss on Homecoming.... yup....it happened.
Now that a few days have passed. I am able to think about my sweet boy turning into a young man. I finally asked if he went 'full soap opera kiss'( you know what I mean,very dramatic) for the first time... he said no, it was a bit more awkward than he anticipated. It was a brief but meaningful exchange. The joking started pretty quickly,when Mitchell said ,' well, by the 23rd time' .....
Today as I am typing my thoughts for this blog. I am thankful that Mitchell is growing into an amazing young man. That he felt comfortable enough telling us us what his plans were, although it caught us all off guard that night at the kitchen table. I must acknowledge that we are doing something right with this parenting gig.
I know Mitchell is just the tip of our iceberg, we have two more in the wings waiting patiently for their turn. I am thankful for being able to witness these boys staking small steps forward shedding their innocence. I know I am not the first, plenty of mom's before me have experienced this same feeling. Here is to enjoying the high school years..
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