I’m not talking about those times you walk into a room and forget why you’re there. Or when you’re frantically looking for your keys while holding them. (Guilty!) Those are some pretty silly moments that definitely make you feel old. But nothing makes you feel quite as old as having a child go through their senior year of high school. I’m doing this now and even though it’s my second time around, it still bites.
My second son is a delightful creature who brightens anyone’s day with his charm. Unless he’s having a bad day. I mean some days just don’t work out in our favor. I really think that Teen Mom show on MTV (is it still on MTV? Is MTV still a thing?) should be about moms WITH teens instead of moms who ARE teens. Maybe nobody would watch it, but maybe, just maybe, we would form chapters all over America like those real housewife chicks! Just a thought.
It’s hard when your child is turning into a man. They are growing facial hair and staying up late which makes your own hair fall out and YOU end up with the bags under your eyes. They push you away just to pull you back in. It can be exhausting. But it’s all worth it when they stand on their own in the world but still manage to come home and see their mom, I mean, PARENTS. Yea. Parents.
It just seems senior year is harder on moms than dads. I’m sure that’s true of all the milestones because I don’t recall anyone crying but me when they took their first steps and said their first word, which was usually,”dad,” (insert eye roll here). Even if we can’t agree on who senior year is USUALLY the hardest on, we can assume it’s NOT hard on the seniors themselves. They’re ready to blow this joint and find themselves (and have less rules)! They’ll be the first to say they’re ready to graduate! Usually.
But this year things are a little, or a lot, different. I won’t go into the virus and I’m not getting into all the ways things could be worse. That’s not what this is about. This is about a group of kids who left for spring break and never got to go back.
If they had know that week was their last week they may have cherished it more. They may have savored that feeling of being a big fish in a small pond before heading off to their perspective oceans. Maybe they would have thanked their teachers, coaches and principal for all their encouragement along the way. Maybe they would have soaked everything in and took a million mental pictures. As much as I dreaded waking him up for school in the mornings, maybe I would have done it a little gentler had I too known it was the last time. Okay, probably NOT on that one. I mean, he IS a teenager. But perhaps I would have smiled through the chaos that one single solitary day.
Senior year may have ended differently for our kiddos but it hasn’t all been bad. He’s had some really awesome senior moments of spending time with his siblings. Teaching his younger brother to “hunt” small game and helping his older brother work on trucks. He has made me laugh staying up late and gone out to investigate our property when dad was at work. We have become closer in a way we might not have had his year gone as planned. Had it gone as WE planned anyway… we all know it went exactly as God planned. And His plans are perfect. Maybe that’s what we were all being taught while staying home from school. What a lesson we have had the chance to learn through this. A lesson our seniors will surely pass along to our grandchildren one day. One that teaches us to look for our father’s hand in everything, and thank Him for it all. Our hearts may break for tradition, but they must also rejoice in His sovereignty!
If you have a senior this year, please hug them tight and remind them you are always on their side. Keep watering those roots and stretching those wings. Give them happy memories while we all endure this together.
Colossians 1:11
Good Grief: How God Healed My Heart When I Wasn’t Looking 