Thursday, July 12, 2007

CATCHING A GLIMPSE.....

As much as I miss the sweet days when my children were very young, there are many things that are quite nice about having teenagers.

1. They can make their own breakfast - or lunch or supper - if necessary.
2. I never have to enter a bathroom with them again - except to inspect it and remind them to clean it.
3. We no longer have to hire a babysitter. In fact, our daughter IS a babysitter.
4. We go out on dates a lot more (see number 3)
5. Shopping for school supplies is SOOO much easier.
6. We can actually reason with them. Well, sometimes.
7. We do not have to sit through any more silly kid movies. In fact, both of our children have "respectfully" asked that we not be in the theater at the same time as them.
8. I can leave them at home when I go grocery shopping, but make them come out to the van and carry in the heavy stuff when I get home.
The list goes on.

But one of the greatest things about seeing our children grow is getting a glimpse into their character - a preview of the mark they will leave on the world.

I had such a glimpse this evening.

The Princess had a softball tournament game. Our team had not done so well this season. We had only won 3 games before the tournament. We lost our first tournament game, but won tonight, our second. We happened to be playing a team who had won exactly ZERO games, but still....

So after the game we were at Dairy Queen where The Princess was having her favorite DQ meal - a barbecue sandwich and a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard. We were there with 3 of her royal teammates. After we had been there a while, we saw several members of the opposing team walk in. When they were all settled at a table, The Princess said to her fellow royals "Hey let's go over and tell them they played a good game." So off they went to chat with their opponents. The Princess told me later about their conversation and that basically each team complimented the other and there was laughter and an all around friendly attitude.

It was just a little thing. Just a brief moment. Just a glimpse.

But in it I, her mother, saw something grand.

1 comment:

Beaner said...

Wow! It is rare that any teenager would do what The Princess did - I admire that!!!

I am really looking forward to the Teen Years, as crazy as that sounds. I mean, I already have an emotional Princess & moody wild man on my hand - I may as well get a little "freedom" out of the deal!