What A Difference A Day Makes

I had been warned that this stage of life I find myself in comes with a certain amount of angst. I was silly enough to think it wouldn't happen here.

Several weeks ago, on the first day of school, I took the kids out for lunch.

At the end of our lunch as I was looking for my wallet in the bottom of my ridiculously large bag The Boy started to chuckle. I looked up. He was playing with his food.

We snapped a picture of his crabby french-fry-pickle-face and had a good laugh as we walked out the door.

I've never been one to let the kids play with their food, but as I get older, I get pickier about the battles I fight. In 23 days I will officially be living with a teenager... no doubt there will be battles.

We had one yesterday, and while I am reticent to write about it (his friends are all computer savvy; some have "friended" me on Facebook), the bottom line is that school at this age isn't so much about learning knowledge, as much as it is learning discipline. Of course, in his young eyes, it just looks like a lot of busy work on paper that he can often do in his head. I just want him to follow direction and obey the rules. He's no longer satisfied with incomplete answers and blind obedience.

I can't make him understand that life very rarely is "black and white".

He strains under the weight of not knowing what he thinks he knows.

If I am honest, so do I.

Perhaps my desire is that I'd hoped he wouldn't have to learn the hard way, but then perhaps he'd never learn.

I guess what I need to remember is this: there are days when we will all feel just like that mean-browed-food-face. I am praying we can face them with love and encouragement.

Today is a new day. May we carry lessons learned into it...