How Did We Get Here Already?

You may have noticed that I don't talk about the older kids as much as the younger ones. For one thing, they aren't up to as many crazy antics. I don't catch Tyler and Noelle sneaking into the sugar bowl anymore. They do take the liberty to make themselves a pot of coffee at 9:30 pm, but that is not endearing and silly as much as it is unwise and annoying. Especially when I am mysteriously out of creamer the next morning. I also don't write a lot about them because I want to protect their privacy. It might be a little bit humiliating to slide into your first period math class knowing that your mother just wrote a big emotional post about you on her blog.

But today I'm going to do it anyway, despite my better judgment.

Last night was the junior high variety show. Singing, dancing, and all sorts of entertainment. Tyler sang in the choir intermittently during this "Totally 80's" themed show. A skit here, a couple songs there, it was practically a Broadway production. The last few weeks, after school practices have come to a head, some lasting until after dinner. I have received many a call hearing "Mom, can you bring me a burger or something." from the other end of the line. I would then don my fast food delivery hat and attend to my son's nutritional needs. This of course meant I had to set foot in the junior high school building. The same building where I attended 7th and 8th grade. The same building where I passed notes between class and where I served my first detention for chewing gum. It even smells the same. Industrial strength cleaners and pubescent body odor. What a combo.

Nate and I whispered and giggled during the whole show, acting like middle schoolers ourselves. "We're Not Gonna Take It!" and "Freeze Frame" brought back all sorts of memories. I sat and watched a stage full of these 12, 13, and 14 year old people. Awkwardness and insecurity oozed from ever corner of the stage. Girls who were beginning to look like little women. A sea of male faces, some looking like little boys while others already had stubble and angular jawbones. Some, you could tell, were endowed with an extra dose of stage presence. Others were mortified that people were actually looking at them. Oh my heart broke for these young teenagers and the emotional and hormonal turmoil that I knew they were going through. At the very same time I was in awe at a glimpse of the adults they would grow to be. Every few moments I got a peek of a stage full of grownups.

It was too much for my little old mind and heart. I slipped back into superficial crowd goer and enjoyed the rest of the performance. But not before saying a prayer for my firstborn son, asking God to guide him through this mine field that is Junior High, and thanking Him for this life entrusted to Nate and I.

What a responsibility.

What an opportunity.

What an amazing young man.