Smells like teen spirit

My oldest is graduating from 8th grade next week, I can hardly believe it. Yesterday was his first graduation practice, and only one of us was excited about it. Guess which one. (Hint. It was not the teenager.)

"Mom, what did I look like up on the stage when we were singing?"

"You looked like someone was holding a gun to your head."

My good friend, who also has a son graduating, was laughing hysterically at John's face.

"That teenage angst face kills me." she said. You have no idea how much it kills me too, I wanted to say.

He really is coming out of the worst of the teenage angst, I have to be honest. I was nervous about him being a teenager. Teenagers are interesting creatures and teendom? Yes it might end well, and also a giant fireball might consume everyone. You never know, it could go either way.

I decided the best way to approach it was to treat him like an adult. I began asking his opinion and consulting him and listening to his input. I began letting him make his own decisions and letting him own his failures. And do you know what happened? He began acting like an adult. Who knew? I am growing up right along side of him.