Teenage Angst!

Last night, Shawn and his girlfriend of 6 months had a little bit of an argument. Ok, it was kind of monumental to talk to Shawn. I'm worn out! Fortunately, after spending some time together at our house today everything is back to smooth sailing. But it made me stop and realize something. If the worry and concern for my son and his relationship with his girlfriend and the hurt that he was feeling was forefront in my mind and heart, I wonder how hard it was on my parents when I was a teenager and my relationships were my entire world. It's easy to look back on as an adult and realize that it was such a small part of things but boy was it EVERYTHING to me back then. I remember at one point feeling like I didn't want to live if I couldn't be with my boyfriend. Wow! And where is he now? Who knows? And really, who cares? It's hard to impart the knowledge that I have based on my life experiences to my own teenagers who are dealing with the same things now. For one, teenagers don't believe that we, the adults, were ever teenagers and faced these same sorts of issues. Second, do teenagers really listen to us...I mean really? For the most part, I do think my son takes my advice and hears what I have to say as long as it doesn't involve chores or school. Third, they just don't believe or want to believe that the likelihood of a serious, long lasting relationship developing from the one they have at sixteen is unlikely at best. Well, for now, crisis averted and all is well with the kiddos again! Phew! She is a great girl and we love her!