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Friday, August 31, 2012

He is 16 Going on 17

My younger son is 16, going on 17.  A very hard age to mother, I must say.  There are so many things a boy must learn as he grows up in order to be a man of integrity, honor and one who values a job well done.  Yet many of the things he must learn are dangerous, at least to me.  You see, he is my child and so it makes it hard to let him begin his journey to manhood.

He has begged to use the riding mower, and after countless hours of begging, I told him he could begin to learn from his father.  Of course, our mower is old and decrepit and so has to be coddled in order to use it.  For instance, every time my husband wants to mow, he has to drag out the compressor to blow up the tires.  See, our budget is tight, and tires are expensive.  So that meant that our son would also have to learn how to use the compressor without blowing the tire or himself to smithereens. 

So finally, after learning all the ins and outs of lawn mowing, he took his first spin.  I was happy to see that he didn't speed around--he took his time and was relatively cautious.  I was worried about my gardens and the above-ground pool, but he took a wide berth which was easily seen where the grass was not mowed!

Another manly thing I have let him begin doing is lighting our charcoal grill.  He now knows how to put the paper in the chimney thing and get that going.  He knows not to leave it unattended.  I do watch from the window though.  Next, he will be learning how to actually cook on the grill.

I have to confess it also took me a long time to let him cross our busy street to check the mail. 

We have also given him permission to look for a part-time job, and then, once he saves up for driving lessons, he will begin that adventure, one I am really dreading.

These are just some of the many transitional things we have allowed him to do this past summer.  This is hard for me, as I worry so much about my children.  But I am determined that he be trained so that he can feel prepared as he inches towards manhood. 

I pray that God will give me the wisdom to help my son be cautious and make good choices, especially when it comes to his safety, and that He will hear my fervent prayers for my son as he grows up.

2 comments:

  1. I was hesitant to allow my oldest son to do things for a long time, now that I am on number 3 son, I allowed him to do things are a much younger age than his older brothers. It gets easier as I get older, to let go, I guess. =)

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  2. I think that is true, that as a mom, I let my younger ones do things earlier than the older ones did. Although my oldest son was not inclined to do anything physical--he was an "intellectual" sort. So maybe because my younger son yearned to try these things we were so shocked that we allowed him to! : )

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