365 Reasons I Love My Teenagers
I am a long-standing coffee drinker; and what I mean by that is that I’ve been drinking coffee for so long now I don’t actually recall when I had that first cup of coffee (note to self, that is something I definitely want to recollect now). And while many will disagree with me, I am a coffee purist so long as you understand that this coffee purist requires cream and sugar in any and every cup of coffee I consume. In fact, this is such an important part of my coffee consumption, I tend to trend my intermittent fasting window around an early first cuppa complete with cream and sugar because without them, coffee is a bitter drink. To me, anyway.
When I think about my teenagers, I consider them like the carefully measured and warmed-up cream poured into my cup over and an equally prudent portion of sugar. They are what matters. In the same way that for me coffee is mainly a vehicle for measures of cream and sugar and caffeine, so, too, are my teens in my life. They add the exact right blend to my days for me to face the world.
Mind you, I heed the idea of God, husband, children and live out this hierarchy of love, devotion, and delight. But aside from God, our girls are the two people with whom I spend much of my time each day. And so I count myself incredibly blessed to have these two young women who enhance my days. Yet like the cream and sugar in my coffee, they each provide a different flavor to my day. Because like my coffee, which is not nearly so enjoyable if one ingredient is altered or, even worse, left out, I cannot imagine my days without the unique components each teen brings to my life.
my life feels its best when I enjoy the unique perspective and personality each girl adds to my life.
Again, as someone who lives in faith, trusting God, I am not blind to the ways God has gifted each of our girls with remarkable talents and abilities and distinct passions and perspectives. Each of these things influences how each girl and I engage and do life together. For example, my oldest has a penchant for and interest in the science of space, including black holes and galaxies and stars and I love to listen to her talk about these subjects. She and I have also enjoyed road trips to concerts for some of her favorite bands that overlap with some of my teenage favorites. More recently we have bonded over musician crushes (one of mine was Tommy Shaw in Styx), and a trip Dragon Con to explore art opportunities and meet like-minded artists.
With my youngest, I see myself in surprising ways, perhaps the most striking her delight and deep enchantment with stories that delve the complexity of life and human emotions. Not only is she drawn to reading such stories, but she spends countless hours creating stories and characters that explore the intricacies of relationships and purpose and the heart’s desires. While she may hold more of this close to her own heart than what she shares, I hold what she does share as carefully as one might a flitting hummingbird that surprisingly alights on an extended finger. Most recently, she and I have enjoyed watching Gilmore Girls together; I suspect she and I see some compelling aspects of ourselves in Loralei and have an acute affinity for a few supporting characters as well.
Like my coffee, when flavored with the perfect combination of cream and sugar that removes the bitterness for me, my life feels its best when I enjoy the unique perspective and personality each girl adds to my life, balancing out my day. Never could I drink my morning coffee with only one of the options. Similarly, I appreciate the unique mix of spice my teenagers add to my daily life because I know in no uncertain terms I would not relish my life to the degree I do without what each of them brings to it.