Search Results for: blog passing phases

Passing Phases

So my 13-year-old daughter really surprised me yesterday. I was sitting in the living room when she walked in with something rolled up. She had a smile on her face. I asked her what it was and she said it was her poster of Justin Bieber. She didn’t like him anymore and was going to give not only her poster but her CD of Justin Bieber to her friend. I had to chuckle. It was only a couple of months ago that I wrote about my daughter’s obsession over Justin Bieber. He seemed to have awakened something inside her. However … Continue reading →

Finding Ways to Mark the Passing Time

Kids grow up. There doesn’t seem to be much we can do about that, or maybe we do so much about that process of “growing up” as parents that it just seems so normal and obvious. I do think in our culture, however, we’ve lost sight of the importance of taking time out to acknowledge developmental and maturity leaps and to mark that passing of time and phases with any sort of ritual. I think we need to find ways of acknowledging and celebrating milestones and changes. Now, I should probably admit to you that my kids tease me, saying … Continue reading →

Let it Heal

It’s been over a year since my divorce, but I’m still not completely healed from it yet. I go through phases; things will be going really well and then something will happen that causes all of those emotions to come flooding back again. The more I dwell on it the more miserable I become and I find myself incapable of moving forward and finding happiness in the things I have today. My older brother recently likened this to a scab. “There’s no reason to keep opening old wounds. You don’t pick a scab, do you? Why would you pick something … Continue reading →

Thanksgiving Reflections

Thanksgiving is one of those holidays were I tend to do a lot of reflecting. Sure, I realize that many choose the New Year to do this sort of thing but I believe that part of reflecting is counting your blessings. There was something about this year’s Thanksgiving that just really brought up lots of nostalgia within me. It is amazing to me how differently things become as your children begin to grow up. For instance, this year my daughter helped to prepare the parts of the meal that I contributed to. I remember a time when I had three … Continue reading →

Parenting Teens Is Like a Roller Coaster Ride

I am so looking forward to July and August, as the church I attend will be holding a class both months on the topic of teenagers. July will be about teenage boys and August will be about teenage girls. They plan on covering the mental, physical, spiritual, social and psychological development of teenagers. I always believed that children should come with some sort of manual. Okay, maybe not really. However I do think that before a mother leaves the hospital she should be counseled in some way about what can be expected. We give birth and a day later we … Continue reading →

Are Teens Overindulged?

Yesterday my daughter enjoyed a rare opportunity. She was picked up afterschool in a limo, got to drive around in it for an hour and a half and was then dropped off at home. She got to show off in front of her school and in our neighborhood. No, I wasn’t the one who arranged for her to ride in a limo. It was another parent who did it for her son and eight of his school friends which included my daughter. One might think a limo ride would be a graduation gift. But they are only in 7th grade; … Continue reading →

How Much Sleep Do Teens Need?

As my children get older I notice they like to sleep in more. My daughter has always been an early riser. She would set her alarm two hours earlier than she really needs to. She had this specific routine that she went through every morning. Well the past two weeks I have been noticing a change. It started off with turning on the snooze button and lying in bed for just a few minutes. Then it turned into setting the alarm an hour earlier instead of two hours. My once prompt, always on time and organized little girl has turned … Continue reading →

Nurture Your Teen’s Interests

When kids become teenagers it can become more of a challenge to connect with them. They are going through their own transition of separating from you and becoming their own person. Sometimes their interests seem so foreign to us, that we don’t know how to engage them. There are ways that parents can do this. It just might take some creativity and effort. Today I enjoyed a very special day with my 16-year-old son. It is not often that it’s just him and I enjoying an activity together. His interests are all about aviation, the military and history. So I … Continue reading →

Stricken with the “Teen Bug”

I have been having some sad moments lately as a mom. About two weeks ago my only daughter turned 13 years old. Up until that point everything was going smoothly. I thought this whole preteen thing was pretty easy and anticipated that it wouldn’t change much once she hit that magic number. I was wrong. It’s like something took over her when she turned 13. I came up with my own term for it. It’s called the “Teen Bug.” Bug as in sickness, like when you get hit with the “flu bug.” I say bug because eventually you get better … Continue reading →

Teens and Toddlers Aren’t that Much Different

I have recently discovered something. Teens and toddlers really aren’t that much different. I came to this conclusion yesterday, Memorial Day. My 16-year-old son was in a parade with his Civil Air Patrol unit, so my husband shot some great video footage. When we got home I wanted to right away transfer the video onto my computer so I could share it with family and friends on Facebook. Along with that video came a bunch of other transfers. My husband had apparently been working on our old videotapes, getting them onto our video camera so they could then be transferred … Continue reading →