An excellent idea just popped into my mind:
It is called The Toll of the Teen or just Teen Toll. A teenager is about to be born in our house. As we prepare to walk the road with great victories and deep pot holes, I wonder about the rest of the family. Teenagers are unpredictable and that can leave a toll on a family. It is not easy growing up, and it is not easy for the family that the teenager is growing up in. Worth it, but not easy. So with this in mind, I have come up with the Toll of the Teen. What if the teenager were to give a gift to each family member on each birthday from 13-19 years old?
A gift of thanks for surviving the ups and downs with them through the year. A small reminder of appreciation for not arguing further why the sky is green when a few minutes ago it was purple. A token of kindness for cheering them on when they are no longer sure that the world is round, and are very certain that pizza is a basic survival food group needed at least every other day. A reward for patience while waiting another half hour because the right shirt was somehow stolen from tornado alley via their room.
Our teenager-to-be candidate has promised to think deeply about this idea with early leanings towards giving each member of the family a shiny copper penny. Next year she might hear about the word inflation and the need to raise our "gifts" to match the current toll for the year.
I am looking forward to this new stage. I remember not too long ago thinking that if she did not hear the word "no" said often, then her two-year-old little mind would not know how to use it. I quickly learned that no is a built-in feature, and some kids have more connections to the usage of this feature than others. With this acquired wisdom, I step into this next frontier.
I am really proud of my teen-to-be. Or better yet, tn-2-b. Suddenly the years are numbered of her time in our home. Her days eating pizza with the family before soaring to her own pizza parlor are flying by fast. Like Wayne Watson's song says, someday the watercolor pony will ride away.
Sharing the roller coaster ride of these next six years will require persistence in prayer, guidance from Scripture, support of survivors, love of family, and fun with friends. As I slowly let her go, daily thanking God for her growth into a beautiful young woman, inside and out, I will shine my copper penny given to me as the toll of the teen and smile.
"Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in His ways." Psalm 128:1
