Responsibility

Growing up is inevitable and seems to happen so fast.  This week we are celebrating our oldest son’s 16^th birthday.  Yikes! Here comes the start of so many new and exciting things (all requiring mom to let go a little).  Like getting his driver’s license and own vehicle and all the independence that comes along with it.  The last couple of weeks we have been spending a lot of extra time practicing for his driver’s test (while his younger brother very dramatically in the back seat wails “I’m too young to die!”).  With the day coming, whether I’m ready or not, is not teaching and preparing him the best thing I can give him?

In a world that is yelling ‘you are now 16 and entitled’, we have tried to instill in our kids that driving, like so many other things, is a privilege and one that comes with great responsibility.  It is not something to take lightly and with expectation, but rather something to treat with great regard and respect.  With power comes responsibility.

So here I find myself trying to remember what it was like to be 16, to let go where I need to and trust that what we have taught him and the foundation we helped build, will be what he bases his future decisions on.  He will make mistakes, like we all have, but it will be what he learns from them that will determine how and where he succeeds.

Alana Regier

http://alanaregier.blogspot.ca