Mother of Teens

It is so much fun to be the mother of teens! This week I have watched Jordan slip in and out of that adult phase of life with so much maturity. He was elected to be the Senior Boys Rep. this year in school, which makes him part of Student Council and with Homecoming this week, he has been unusually busy. He was writing the script for the assembly, planning and setting up for the formal dance, practicing to perform the song which he wrote in the Carnival talent show, and preparing paperwork for the Chamber of Commerce for his Eagle project. He had also asked his favorite friend girl to the dance and was trying to work for us to get enough money for that date. On Wednesday evening, Bishop Waltman called and asked him to speak on Sunday. He looked up at me, after that phone call, with homework spread all over the table and just smiled. I said, "Welcome to the adult world." He then packed a "For the Strength of Youth" pamphlet into his backpack to study on the Cross Country bus trip the next day. On Friday, he was elected as Homecoming King which was fun for him, but that meant he had to be at the football game on Friday night and postpone corsage making, which a group of boys had planned at a ladies house who supposedly had all of the materials and expertise, if they would supply the flowers. I was pretty busy myself, and though I was concerned with all that he was trying to accomplish, I had confidence that he would be able to do what needed done. He is, after all, a "big boy". Friday night, with permission, he came home much later than curfew with a sad looking corsage and a lot of stress about date plans that seemed to be falling apart. He was going with a large group and hadn't been as involved with the planning as he would have liked because of his busy week. I asked if he wanted help. He said he was fine, but by Saturday morning, that mother hen instinct took over and while he was gone, I ran up to his date's house to get a fabric swatch to see if the tie he had decided to wear would match. It didn't. I came home, tore apart the corsage, realized I didn't have the materials I needed to fix it, grabbed Mikayla, who has become my stabilizer in such situations, and went to town for wire, tape and a tie to match a turquoise dress (the dance theme was neon). The wire and tape were easy, but no one has a turquoise tie. Neon just isn't very popular in the tie section. With Mikayla's help, I finally found one that would work, and we flew home, hoping that we would beat Jordan and that he wouldn't walk in before us and see his corsage in bits and pieces all over the bar. We did. I went all over the yard and picked bits of pretty flowers and greenery and spent the next hour trying to remember what I had learned 17 years before about corsages. Now it was my turn to be stressed. All corsages were pin-on then; none are now. You have to make them differently. I was finally able to succeed and Jordan was most appreciative to walk in to find a unique and pretty corsage and matching tie waiting for him when he got home. He had to take down the dance last night, so Fred and I and Mikayla and Eden all waited up for him until 1:30. He said, "It was all worth it!" (Don't worry Dad, I grilled him -- no kissing -- no holding hands ;-)

Tomorrow is a new week; I wonder what that will bring!

Jordan and Hannah


The corsage


Half of the group