Time for Cool Changes

It hit me a few months ago that our family was going through some big changes.

Cody, our 16 year old, can now drive anywhere (in theory anyway!) by himself, ending many years of driving him to every away-from-home event. I am no longer the main influence in his life . . . his dad is. Morgan, 14, has become involved in many more things--including showing sheep, school events, and joining the 4-H judging team. She's not a "girl" any more, but a young woman.

Both kids are much more independent--I don't know exactly where they are, or precisely what they're doing, every moment of every day, like I did when they were younger. They have their own point of view and can intelligently talk about current events and issues (we've had some intersting conversations and friendly debates about the presidential candidates). They're both looking ahead to college and what they'll do after that. They surprised me with a bright pair of Crocks for Mother's Day--and I didn't even hint that I wanted another pair!

For the most part I'm really enjoying this stage of family life. Oh, there are the occasional "hormone tsunamis" (Tim came up with that term and I think it's a perfect description of a teenager's mood swings), and the always-present low level of worry that I think every parent has about his or her kids for as long as we're parents. I realize that no matter what we've taught them, no matter how many times we've gone over seatbelts, no talking on cell phones while driving, and saying "NO!" (to so many things!), teens can be . . . well . . . short-sighted, overly confident, and just plain have a major brain fart. The scary part is that at the age they're at, a bad decision can lead to life-long negative consequences.

Back to changes . . . this is a time of life full of changes for me, too. Without having to focus on the kids 24/7 I'm looking ahead to what I want to do, and my long-term goals.

When I'm with a group of moms who are in this stage of life, between cooing and college, I've found that we share the same joys, concerns, and questions. It's always comforting to me to find that my kids aren't the only ones who can forget what I've asked them to do within 5 seconds of my asking (teenage Alzheimers, perhaps?), I'm not the only one who is wondering how to productively fill my newly-found free time (with things other than worry!), and my husband and I are not the dumbest parents ever, anywhere, at any time in world history (like our kids seem to believe!).

I hope this blog will be a place to share questions, concerns, advice, and encouragement about all aspects of the stage of motherhood between cooing and college. Of course, moms of younger kids are welcome, too! All moms are in this together--with the goal of raising healthy, happy, productive kids . . . with a minimum of therapy, trauma, and tears.