Better Late than Never

Dean  (the husband)
Shalane  (the wife  :O)

As you know from our previous blog, we are currently staying at my sister-in-laws house.  It used to be our house, but we are owner financing it to my sister, so it's kinda fun to come back and visit.  The house has a lot of people in it right now. My sister-in-law has three of her own children. The oldest of the three has two children of her own. When you add in the boyfriends and children of the the boyfriends, it can seem like a lot, especially when my wife and I are use to living in a small RV together with no one else around.   He's right!  I have mad love for all these people, but it's crazy around here!  :O)

The point that I want to make today involves a conversation that my niece had with my wife last night. My niece, Shandi, is the oldest daughter of my sister-in-law and is the one that has two kids of her own. One year she decided to stay with us. I believe it was for her entire freshman year of high school. I gather from the little chat that she had with Shalane, that she is going to do a lot of the same things that she saw my wife do as a mother. Imitation is the highest form of flattery. She also shared a paper that she had written about three years ago. In the essay, she mentioned how much she admired my wife for the things that she had accomplished in her life and was hoping that she could grow up to emulate her.  I really don't feel as great as her paper made me sound, but I am happy with what I have made of my life and am flattered that a young person would want to strive to be her best based on my example.

As with just about all teenagers, Shandi did some things that she may now regret. However, at the time it seemed like the right thing to do. I know when I was a teenager I thought I was the brightest person in the world. Life has a way of helping you realize that you aren’t as smart as you thought you were in your teens.  In fact, they might have told you how much smarter you've become or started asking for your advice on one thing or another. I know that I eventually did that to my parents as I made my way through my 20’s.  

For those of you that have children that are teenagers, I am pulling for you.  It is not going to be easy, but it will be worth it. I agree.  I love teenagers.  They're awesome, and so many of them are using their powers for good.  :O)  In the immortal words of Winston Churchill, “Never, never, never, never give up!” As a high school teacher, I would like to add that they have an internal instinct to be able to express just how unfair all rules are that apply to them. Again, I fall back to Sir Churchill on this one, "Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never- in nothing, great or small, large or petty- never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.:  Words to live by, indeed.  Happy Trails!